Dubai - MENA Herald: 2015 has been a dynamic year for public sector implementations of accrual accounting worldwide. The next few years are expected to witness a continued rise in interest and effort for improvement of public sector financial management. In order to enhance the accessibility and raise awareness of IPSAS accounting standards, Deloitte has developed an Arabic summary of “The International Public Sector Accounting Standards”, IPSAS, . The aim of the Deloitte IPSAS Arabic Summary is to provide a handy reference for use by the broader Arabic speaking community across the region’s public sector.
“IPSAS and public sector adoption of accrual accounting has been a hot topic on the agenda of many government finance leaders in the region and compared to years before the discussions are far more detailed and pragmatic,” explains Mohammad Jallad, audit partner at Deloitte Middle East.
Many countries choose to adopt international accounting standards when converting to accrual accounting and the most popular are the International Public Sector Accounting Standards. The accrual IPSASs are based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), where the requirements of these standards are applicable to the public sector and expand to tackle public sector-specific financial reporting issues. More and more countries are seeking to learn from one another’s experiences and this becomes easier when common international accounting are being followed.
“A majority of the governments in the Arab world have now embraced IPSAS. Arab countries are taking a progressive and innovative approach in adopting a common accounting language, thus improving mutual understanding of each other’s financial position and performance,” explains Prof. Frans van Schaik, Deloitte global leader, public sector accounting and auditing. “In order to make IPSAS financial statements understandable to a wide range of people, Deloitte has issued a bird’s eye view of the standards in Arabic. This summary should make government financial reports more accessible by explaining the highlights of the accounting principles they apply.”
“Governments investing in the adoption of accrual accounting aim to achieve a number of benefits including availability of more comprehensive and quality information for decision-making, as well as improved stewardship of assets and liabilities, adds Faisal Darras, director, Consulting, Deloitte Middle East.
Other benefits include:
Increased transparency and accountability
Better management of government resources enabling efficiency and cost effectiveness
Higher consistency and comparability between governments worldwide
Enhanced reporting of Government Finance Statistics (GFS) as required by the IMF
