Strong leadership and commitment are essential for the successful delivery of IFRS in the public sector

Strong project management will be essential to ensure that public sector organisations deliver IFRS based financial reporting on schedule. Stakeholder buy-in, engagement of audit committees with IFRS issues and effective dialogues with external auditors are also a must.

These were among the key messages at the second IFRS forum held in central London, hosted jointly by the Financial Reporting Faculty of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

With practical experiences shared by key public sector organisations leading in the implementation of IFRS, the forum provided a useful insight to some of the key issues that organisations need to focus on to make implementation of IFRS in the public sector a success.

Nigel Sleigh-Johnson, Head of the Financial Reporting Faculty at the ICAEW said,

“IFRS is now upon the public sector and although the process has been delayed by one year, there is no room for complacency. Strong leadership, commitment and a top down approach is essential for the successful delivery of IFRS. Good systems and internal controls are also essential to the smooth running of the process, and the challenges of IFRS implementation need to be understood throughout the organisation, not just by the finance team. Organisations should carry out a risk analysis mapping their business against each standard to work out where the risks and challenges lie and then plan a strategy to mitigate these.

”Ian Carruthers, Director, CIPFA Policy and Technical, said:

“This second IFRS Forum reinforced the importance of strong project management, and getting buy-in from key stakeholders. Considerable progress has been made, but departments and other bodies should not underestimate the work required to produce shadow accounts which can be given a clear audit opinion. Care will also be needed to embed expertise and systems which support the production of financial statements on an ongoing basis, and to integrate these into wider business processes.”

ENDS

Media enquiries:

Contact Heather Coath, ICAEW press office, on 020 7920 8650/07715 496493 or email heather.coath@icaew.com

Contact: Guy Roberts / Lindsay Machin, CIPFA Press Office, on 020 7543 5712 / 5645 or email
guy.roberts@cipfa.org / lindsay.machin@cipfa.org

To see press release relating to the previous ICAEW/CIPFA IFRS event please go to:
http://www.cipfa.org/press/press_show.cfm?news_id=32483

Notes to editors:

1. As a world leading professional accountancy body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) provides leadership and practical support to over 132,000 members in more than 160 countries, working with Government, regulators and industry in order to ensure the highest standards are maintained.
   
   Our members provide financial knowledge and guidance based on the highest technical and ethical standards.  They are trained to challenge people and organisations to think and act differently, to provide clarity and rigour, and so help create and sustain prosperity.  The ICAEW ensures these skills are constantly developed, recognised and valued.
   
   Because of us, people can do business with confidence.

2. The ICAEW is a founding member of the Global Accounting Alliance with over 700,000 members worldwide. The ICAEW Financial Reporting Faculty www.icaew.com/frf was launched in December 2008 to provide practical assistance to all professionals with an interest in IFRS or UK GAAP financial reporting.

3. CIPFA is one of the leading professional accountancy bodies in the UK and the only one which specialises in the public services. It is responsible for the education and training of professional accountants and for their regulation through the setting and monitoring of professional standards. Uniquely among the professional accountancy bodies in the UK, CIPFA has responsibility for setting accounting standards for a significant part of the economy, namely local government. CIPFA’s members work (often at the most senior level) in the public service bodies, in the national audit agencies and major accountancy firms. They are respected throughout for their high technical and ethical standards and professional integrity. CIPFA also provides a range of high quality advisory, information and training and consultancy services to public service organisations. As such, CIPFA is the leading independent commentator on managing and accounting for public money.