International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS)

This chapter provides facts on the IPSAS and the Board, information on the content, scope and purpose of these IPSAS, the goals, strategy and authority of the IPSASB, together with the standard development process it applies for standards. It focuses on the implementation process of the IPSAS. The chapter provides an overview of all processes to go through in order to adopt and implement the IPSAS accounting system. The search for more harmonized regulation and the need for more business like tools in government resulted in formation of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Public Sector Committee in 1986, later changed into the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) in 2004. That is how they gave birth to a series of accounting standards for the public sector, called the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). This clearly shows the need for an individual approach to adoption, one of the biggest challenges facing further worldwide implementation of the IPSAS.