Adoption of IPSAS to improve financial reporting – Controller

Company News on Friday, June 7, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-06-07

The Department of Comptrollers and General Accountants (CADG) organized an awareness seminar for economic and fiscal officials on the implementation and adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

The implementation in Ghana aims to further strengthen the Public Financial Management (PFM) reform strategy and the use of Ghana's Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS).

The Comptroller, Accountant General, Mr. Kwasi Kwaning-Bosompem, at the seminar, stated that Ghana's public accounts had been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, in accordance with financial laws such as FAA 1979, Financial Administration Act 2003, on a cash basis.

In recognition of these shortcomings in cash accounting, the Ministry of Finance has endorsed the adoption and implementation of IPSAS, which ensures that the public accounts are prepared according to the accounting method. 'exercise.

He added that IPSAS would facilitate the interpretation and understanding of financial statements, which would improve fiscal transparency and accountability in Ghana's public accounts.

The implementation would improve the quality, comprehensiveness and international comparability of financial information provided by public sector entities to provide credibility, badurance and acceptance in financial reporting.

"When implemented, the IPSAS standards, once acquired, will result in a reconciliation of revenues with the expenditures of the period concerned, in order to give an accurate badessment of the financial performance of the government," he said.

He said economic and fiscal officials responsible for planning, preparing and seeing the implementation of budgets should play a very important role in the implementation of IPSAS in MDAs and participate in changing management processes.

IPSAS is a set of standards issued by the International Accounting Federation (IFAC) IPSAS Board to regulate and guide the preparation, presentation and disclosure of general purpose financial statements in the sector. public around the world.

IPSAS was adopted in 2014 in Ghana, which was approved by the Ministry of Finance. The CAGD has been charged with taking charge of the implementation process to facilitate the preparation of adequate financial reports.