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The implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards in central government and the health sector is to be deferred until 2009/10, it was announced in the March 2008 Budget report. The move followed consultation with departments and the Financial Reporting Advisory Board (FRAB) on the technical work required.
A key factor was the significant effort required to produce opening balance sheets and comparatives for Private Finance Initiative arrangements.
The announcement will not provide accountants in central government or health with an opportunity to relax, reflecting as it does the substantial work needed for the adoption of IFRS.
IFRS disclosures on financial instruments will still be needed, as FRS25, FRS26 and FRS29 requirements will be included in the 2008-09 Financial Reporting Manual. |
Furthermore, ‘shadow’ IFRS accounts will be required, except for those bodies that can provide a compelling case against. There will, however, be no need to provide comparative information on 2007/08.
The timetable for local government moving to IFRS was determined by the CIPFA/LASAAC Board in January, and full IFRS based accounts are planned for 2010/11.
CIPFA/LASAAC has also issued a consultation paper on governance arrangements for the Local authority code of practice under IFRS, asking whether this should continue under the aegis of the Accounting Standards Board, or whether the code might be developed under a framework linked with the FRAB.
Under both options, CIPFA/LASAAC would continue to be responsible for producing the code, and CIPFA would continue to produce the Guidance notes for practitioners, so there might be little practical impact from the practitioner’s perspective. |
