Recommended Practice Guideline (RPG) 3, Reporting Service Performance Information, provides good practice guidelines on reporting service performance information.

Development of this RPG reflects the IPSASB’s commitment to addressing public sector-specific reporting issues, including those that relate to information additional to the financial statements. 

An At a Glance summary provides an overview of RPG 3, Reporting Service Performance Information.

Highlights from the IPSASB's March 10-13, 2015, meeting in Santiago, Chile.

:42 - Chair's Opening Remarks

1:34 - IPSASB Governance

2:56 - Reporting Service Performance

4:13 - Social Benefits

4:57 - Public Sector Combinations

6:05 - Public Sector Financial Instruments

6:49 - IPSASB Work Plan

10:16 - Government Business Enterprises

11:29 - Chair's Closing Remarks

14:04 - Next Meeting

During a consultative process, the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board^® (IPSASB^®) sought input on its future strategic direction to ensure it continued to respond to the global financial reporting needs of governments and other public sector entities.
 
In a live webinar, IPSASB Technical Director Stephenie Fox discusses the key elements of the IPSASB’s Strategic Objectives for 2015 Forward and reviews how input received during the consultative process shaped the final document.

To accommodate an international audience, the webinar is being offered on two dates:

• Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 12 p.m. EDT
• Friday, March 27, 2015, 9:30 a.m. EDT

 
Please click here to register and select a date. 

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board^® (IPSASB^®) welcomes the IPSASB Governance Review Group’s final recommendations on the future governance of the IPSASB, released today. The recommendations include the establishment of a governance body—the Public Interest Committee—to ensure that the public interest is served by the IPSASB’s standard-setting activities, as well as the establishment of an IPSASB Consultative Advisory Group.

The Review Group was formed to assess the IPSASB’s governance arrangements and to make recommendations to strengthen these processes and structures.  It is chaired by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and World Bank; members are representatives from the Financial Stability Board (FSB), International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).

“The IPSASB has a growing reputation as the international standard setter for the public sector, and its standards are increasingly considered benchmarks for public sector financial reporting,” noted IPSASB Chair Dr. Andreas Bergmann. “The Review Group’s recommendations on the board’s governance will provide further support to these trends by assuring governments and other stakeholders that the board is independent, that it acts in the public interest, and that its standards result from widespread and carefully considered comment from interested stakeholders around the world.”

The IPSASB Review Group has developed draft Terms of Reference for the Public Interest Committee and plans an inaugural meeting of the Committee by the end of March 2015. The recommendations are available here.

About the IPSASB
The IPSASB develops accounting standards and guidance for use by public sector entities. It receives support (both direct financial and in-kind) from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the South African Accounting Standards Board, and the governments of Canada, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IPSASB are facilitated by IFAC.

About IFAC^®
IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession, dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. It is comprised of over 175 members and associates in 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

Narrated by IPSASB Deputy Director and Project Coordinator John Stanford, this presentation provides an overview of the key aspects of the Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities (the Conceptual Framework).

IPSAS 38 brings together the disclosures previously included in IPSASs 6–8. It also introduces new disclosure requirements, including those related to structured entities that are not consolidated and controlling interests acquired with the intention of disposal. 

IPSAS 37 establishes requirements for classifying joint arrangements and accounting for those different types of joint arrangements. Joint arrangements are classified as either joint operations or joint ventures. In a joint operation, the parties to the arrangement have rights to the assets and obligations for the liabilities relating to the arrangement. In a joint venture, the parties to the arrangement have rights to the net assets of the arrangement.

IPSAS 36 explains the application of the equity method of accounting, which is used to account for investments in associates and joint ventures. The requirements are very similar to the current guidance in IPSAS 7, Investment in Associates. Because equity accounting must now be used when accounting for joint ventures, the title of the standard now also refers to joint ventures.

In contrast with IPSAS 7, IPSAS 36 does not permit a different accounting treatment for temporary investments. 

The requirements for separate financial statements in IPSAS 34 are very similar to the current requirements for separate financial statements in IPSAS 6, Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements.

IPSAS 35 supersedes the requirements in IPSAS 6 regarding consolidated financial statements. This standard still requires that control be assessed having regard to benefits and power, but the definition of control has changed and the standard now provides considerably more guidance on assessing control. The definition of control focuses on an entity’s ability to influence the nature and amount of benefits through its power over another entity. This new definition of control may impact previous assessments of control, and therefore whether certain entities should be consolidated.