IPSAS Explained Second Edition IPSAS Explained A Summary of International Public Sector Accounting Standards Second Edition Thomas Müller–Marqués Berger Ernst & Young This edition first published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd in 2012 © 2012 EYGM Limited. Registered office John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, United Kingdom For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. The right of the author to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. 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Worldwide, our 152,000 people are united by our shared values and an unwavering commitment to quality. We make a difference by helping our people, our clients and our wider communities achieve their potential. Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ww.ey.com. How Ernst & Young's Global Government & Public Sector Center can help your organization Around the world, governments and not-for-profi t organizations are continually seeking innovative answers to complex challenges. They are striving to provide better services at lower costs and to ensure sustainable economic development, a safe environment, more transparency and increased accountability. 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Neither EYGM Limited nor any other member of the global Ernst & Young organization can accept any responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any material in this publication. On any specific matter, reference should be made to the appropriate advisor. ED None Ernst & Young VII Foreword In many countries all over the world, public sector accounting is in a phase of transition to resource–oriented, accrual–based accounting and reporting. Both nationally and internationally, however, considerable differences between the accounting systems and the published financial statements can be identified. Accordingly, public sector accounting is highly diversified, in formal respects and also with regard to the content. These developments are moving away from the key objectives of public management, which include reducing bureaucracy, achieving comparable standards in terms of accountability and transparency. Debates in recent years and developments in France, New Zealand, South Africa or Switzerland, for example, have shown that the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) could be a suitable means of harmonizing and aligning public sector accounting. As a global organization with a strong focus on the public sector, Ernst & Young has therefore set about offering a contribution to the further development and harmonization of public sector accounting. We are convinced that the global use of IPSASs will enhance transparency and accountability — both of them urgently needed to overcome the current crisis of government’s finances. The aim of the Second edition of this publication is still to provide decision-makers in the public sector with an overview of the IPSASs and the activities of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB). Each IPSAS is presented in brief in the following, focusing on the core content of the relevant standard. In the interest of readability, we decided in most cases not to look at the — often extensive — disclosures in the notes required by the IPSASs. This book is based on the IPSASs and Exposure Drafts (EDs) as at 1 January 2012. New standards like the ones on financial instruments, intangible assets or service concession arrangements are incorporated in this new edition of IPSAS Explained. Furthermore, the current sovereign debt crisis led us to analyze these developments and discuss the implications for public sector financial management. And finally, we have added more graphs, figures and tables which will help the readers to get a better understanding of the sometimes complex and inapprehensible standards. If you have any comments or suggestions, we would be happy to consider them for a third edition of this publication. Please send an e-mail to thomas.mueller-