The IPSASB held its fourth meeting of the year virtually on December 7-10 and 14-15, 2021.

Six volunteers are being sought to serve as members on the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB).  The Nominating Committee has issued a call for nominations looking for candidates to serve for an initial term of up to three years, commencing January 1, 2023.

“Volunteers with diverse backgrounds and skills are essential to the development of high-quality international standards, as well as the promotion of IPSAS adoption,” said Ian Carruthers, IPSASB Chair. “I strongly encourage our key stakeholders to consider applying and/or nominating candidates. Participation in the IPSASB’s work is a valuable experience for both the volunteer as well as being beneficial for the nominating and/or employing organization."

Nominations from a wide range of relevant backgrounds are sought, including, but not limited to:

• Users of general-purpose financial reports, such as parliamentarians, budget offices, and credit-rating agencies;
• Preparers of accrual-based financial statements, such those reporting directly or indirectly in accordance with IPSAS, or in the process of transitioning to IPSAS or another accrual-based accounting framework;
• Ministries of Finance and Treasury departments; and,
• Public sector external auditors.

Candidates will ideally have a public sector background and/or experience in standard setting to be able to contribute value to the work of the Board. English proficiency (both written and oral) is essential, as this is the language in which the IPSASB operates.

Regional balance is important to ensure diverse input from a wide range of jurisdictions to the Board’s discussions. Nominations of qualified candidates from all regions of the world are encouraged and, particularly from the Africa–Middle East and Latin America regions. Nominations from jurisdictions where English is not the native language are particularly encouraged. .

For more details and information on how to submit an application, please see the Call for Nominations. 

Deadline for submitting applications is January 31, 2022.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) announced that in 2022 it will have a majority female Board for the first time. The IPSASB will be comprised of ten women and eight men beginning 1 January 2022.

The geographic diversity of the IPSASB will also increase with new members from China and Saudi Arabia.

The new appointees to the IPSASB have been selected following a rigorous nominations and interview process involving the IFAC Nominating Committee and IPSASB leadership, overseen by the Public Interest Committee. The IFAC Board approved the recommended candidates.

The four new Board members are:

• Mr. Abdullah Al-Mehthil, Saudi Arabia
• Ms. Claudia Beier, Switzerland
• Mr. Maik Esser-Müllenbach, Germany
• Ms. Liang Yang, China

The following two current Board members have been reappointed:

• Ms. Luzvi Chatto, Philippines
• Ms. Lynn Pamment, United Kingdom

“The IPSASB is leading the way with a majority female Board for 2022,” said IPSASB Chair Ian Carruthers. “Diversity of Board membership is essential to ensure the delivery of high-quality standards that can strengthen public financial management globally. The appointment of new members from the Asia and Middle East regions will also be important to ensuring that our outputs meet the needs of an increasingly diverse group of users.”

The IPSASB also announced that Ms Lindy Bodewig of South Africa will continue her role as the IPSASB Deputy Chair for 2022. “I am extremely pleased that Lindy has agreed to serve as my deputy for another year. Lindy brings to our work the powerful combination of experience through her day job in government and national and international public sector standard setting. She has played a particularly important role as the chair of the Task Force of our high-profile project on Natural Resources,” said Mr. Carruthers. “I also want to take this opportunity to thank outgoing members, Mike Blake, Adrienne Cheasty, Bernhard Schatz, and Marc Wermuth for their many important contributions to our work during their time with the Board. We are extremely grateful for their dedication and commitment”.

About the IPSASB
The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) works to strengthen public financial management globally through developing and maintaining accrual-based International Public Sector Accounting Standards® (IPSAS®) and other high-quality financial reporting guidance for use by governments and other public sector entities. It also raises awareness of IPSAS and the benefits of accrual adoption. The Board receives support from the Asian Development Bank, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the New Zealand External Reporting Board, and the governments of Canada and New Zealand. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IPSASB are facilitated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). For copyright, trademark, and permissions information, please go to permissions or contact permissions@ifac.org.

About the Public Interest Committee
The governance and standard-setting activities of the IPSASB are overseen by the Public Interest Committee (PIC), to ensure that they follow due process and reflect the public interest. The PIC is comprised of individuals with expertise in public sector or financial reporting, and professional engagement in organizations that have an interest in promoting high-quality and internationally comparable financial information.

In preparation of its 3rd Research Forum, which will be co-hosted by Comparative International Governmental Accounting Research Network (CIGAR) at its June 2022 conference, the IPSASB is calling for scholarly contributions from the academic community.

Coordinated through the Academic Advisory Group, which includes independent scholars from all parts of the world, as well as the IPSASB members who have an academic background, IPSASB is offering a grant of USD $1,500 for selected scholarly papers submitted covering three research areas with up to six grants available in total.

The research areas of interest are:

Research Area 1: Research on Practical IPSAS Implementation Challenges 

• Differential Reporting 
• Discount Rates

Research Area 2: Research on Adoption and Implementation of Specific IPSAS

• IPSAS 31, Intangible Assets
• IPSAS 33, First-Time Adoption of Accrual Basis IPSAS

Research Area 3: Broad Future Focused Research

• Climate Change and Public Sector Financial Reporting Related to Sustainability 
• Financial Reporting Impacts of Digitization in the Public Sector

The grant recipients, as well as other scholars, will present the first drafts of their full papers at the 2022 Research Forum (date TBD). For more information, see the the IPSASB’s Call for Papers.

Learn more about the Academic Advisory Group.

About the IPSASB

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board® (IPSASB®) works to improve public sector financial reporting worldwide through the development of IPSAS®, international accrual-based accounting standards, for use by governments and other public sector entities around the world.

In its Strategy and Work Plan 2019-2023 (the Strategy) the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board® (IPSASB®) committed to hold a public consultation mid-way through the Strategy period on projects that should be added to the Work Program during the remainder of the period, as existing projects were completed. Accordingly, the IPSASB has today released its Mid-Period Work Program Consultation (Consultation).

Within the context of continuing to deliver the Strategy, the Consultation prioritizes projects to be added to the Work Program as the Board and staff resources become available during 2022 and 2023. In view of the resources likely to become available, the Consultation proposes adding two major projects:

• Presentation of Financial Statements; and 
• Differential Reporting.

The Consultation also proposes to add up to four smaller scope projects:

• IPSAS 21, Impairment of Non-Cash-Generating Assets; 
• IPSAS 31, Intangible Assets; 
• IPSAS 33, First-Time Adoption of Accrual Basis IPSASs; and 
• Making Materiality Judgements.

“Despite the major challenges of the pandemic, the Biennial Review that we have published today shows that the IPSASB has continued to deliver on its current Strategy, which itself remains relevant. As we complete our current projects the Board is proposing to add a number of new ones based on its views on the current priorities,” said IPSASB Chair Ian Carruthers. “It is essential the IPSASB hears its stakeholders’ views on the proposed projects so that it can best address their needs and priorities as IPSAS usage continues to increase globally.”

How to Comment

To access the Exposure Draft, its summary At-a-Glance document, and the Request for Information or to submit a comment, visit the IPSASB website, www.ipsasb.org. Comments are requested by November 30, 2021. The IPSASB encourages IFAC members, associates, and Network Partners to promote the availability of this Consultation Paper to their members and employees.

About the IPSASB

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) works to strengthen public financial management globally through developing and maintaining accrual-based International Public Sector Accounting Standards® (IPSAS®) and other high-quality financial reporting guidance for use by governments and other public sector entities. It also raises awareness of IPSAS and the benefits of accrual adoption. The Board receives support from the Asian Development Bank, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the New Zealand External Reporting Board, and the governments of Canada and New Zealand. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IPSASB are facilitated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). For copyright, trademark, and permissions information, please go to permissions or contact permissions@ifac.org.

About the Public Interest Committee

The governance and standard-setting activities of the IPSASB are overseen by the Public Interest Committee (PIC), to ensure that they follow due process and reflect the public interest. The PIC is comprised of individuals with expertise in public sector or financial reporting, and professional engagement in organizations that have an interest in promoting high-quality and internationally comparable financial information.

Highlights from the CAG June 2021 virtual meeting: 

00:00     Welcome and introduction

00:20     Chair’s summary of the IPSASB CAG meeting

06:14     Closing remarks

Highlights from the June 2021 virtual meeting: 

00:00     Welcome and introduction

00:25     Adjustments to the Work Program

05:26     Revenue and Transfer Expenses

10:10     Natural Resources / Sustainability

19:00     Closing remarks