NewAccounting Standards: IPSAS & IFRS

Governments are moving away from traditional cash-based accounting to accruals based financial reporting. Accruals accounting takes note of financial transactions regardless of when cash transactions take place because adjustments are made to capital assets over their lifetime and amendments are made for income and expenditure at the end of the financial year.

This enables public bodies to have a more accurate data of their performance. It also introduces consistency about the financial position of the organisation which cuts across variations such as the location of the organisation, currency and language. In addition to accruals, generally recognised accounting practices are applied to accounting for assets, depreciation, assets which can be traded, losses which are written off, pensions and valuation.

The standards outline rigorous presentation and disclosure obligations. This sort of compliance is ever more sought by international partners such as ECOWAS, OPEC, NATO and the World Bank. Supervision for the standards is enforced under the authority of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) which caters to the public sector and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the private sector.

Programme Key Features:

• Ensure you are able to adopt the necessary measures to effectively implement the standards.
• Understand the consequences to your organisation
• Cultivate a strategy that leads to a successful implementation
• Incorporate the broader effects of accountability and governance into the standards of your organisation

Designed For:

Financial managers in the public sector.

Learning Outcomes:

• Gain a better understanding of corporate governance and how it can be more effective
• Contribute towards the process of ensuring continued international investment
• Develop robust monitoring, improve budgetary control and effective reporting
• A better understanding of the standards of accruals, it’s implications with regards to financial data, allocating assets and making decisions