IPSASB’s Progressive steps towards enhanced presentation of Financial Statements

Objective

The Project was initiated by the IPSASB to facilitate improved communication of financial information by public sector entities and promote accountability. The project is exploring the possibility of substituting IPSAS 1 on Presentation of Financial Statements with a presentation approach that would be useful to the entities’ specific users.

Milestones reached to date

At its September 2023 meeting, the IPSASB approved the project brief, marking the commencement of the project’s early development stages. In the December 2023 meeting, the IPSASB agreed to produce a Consultation Paper (CP) that would explore an approach that allows different presentation approaches in IPSAS.

The provision of different presentation approaches is supported because of the increased flexibility it would provide to public sector entities to improve the understandability of financial statements based on jurisdictional considerations. The IPSASB members, technical advisors, observers and staff engaged on topics related to potential categorisation and sub-totals in the statement of financial performance.

Next steps

Moving forward, IPSASB staff will actively involve users through focus groups and roundtables. These engagements aim to gather valuable insights, inform perspectives, and lend support to the development of diverse presentation approaches.

Disclaimer

The article has been prepared by the Secretariat of the ASB for information purposes only. It has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise acted on by the Board.