Introduction and Rationale for IPSAS and IFRS Implementation

Professor Kelly Kingsly

Independent; Copperstone University ; Charisma university

Date Written: September 14, 2017 Download this paper

Abstract

The global wind of economic integration has now reached the doorstep of accounting profession with intense pressure on nations state to apply unified accounting Standards in government undertakings. This effort could be seen as a centaury reform to the profession. The reform agenda was perceived as way forward towards harmonizing public sector with private sector liked system and principle of financial reporting, which for long experts had been advocating on the believed that both sectors should operate at the same level of efficiency. The need for high quality standards to enhance sound and consistent financial reporting and the fact that the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of public sector extended to a belief that public and private sectors did not have to be managed in fundamentally different ways, fostered a wide-ranging discussion about the harmonization of public sector accounting systems and their convergence towards the private sector financial reporting standards. There is no doubt that applying universal high quality standards can promote efficiency, transparency which in long run may promote public accountability. However, the process of adopting a uniform set of accounting standards, as a part of the international convergence of financial reporting systems, is perceived as a very complex, time consuming and difficult task. The trend of international convergence and harmonization policy of private sector accounting and financial reporting standards has also made the influence on the process of entire public sector reform that has been progressing worldwide.

According to Ball (2006), since accounting is shaped by economic and political factors, harmonization of accounting standards and practices is almost an inevitable consequence of the increasing integration of markets and policies. This has been witnessed by the mandatory adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in several countries in the last decade. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is a private organization of international scope established in 1973. It has issued a set of standards to be used when preparing financial statements, namely 41 International Accounting Standards (IAS) and 13 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The IAS are standards issued by the IASB by 2001 and IFRS are standards issued after that year. Nevertheless, currently, the expression IFRS is commonly used alone to designate this set of rules (IAS and IFRS). This IFRS adoption worldwide is a significant economic transformation and it gave rise to a major line of research. This paper reviews the empirical literature on the effects of IFRS adoption on financial management and economic transformation with the focus on Cameroon. Empirical research allows evaluating the impact of changing standards on the financial reporting quality, as well as the effects of such a change on the capital market (Douala Stock Exchange), it can also contribute to understanding the factors that influence the consequences of change. This knowledge is important for regulators in Cameroon that are preparing to change standards, but also for national regulators that have already done it when considering ways to improve IFRS implementation.

This paper will revisit some cases studies encouraging the implementation of IFRS and IPSAS worldwide and attempt to domesticate the concepts in Cameroon. The first part provides the rationale of IFRS and IPSAS implementation, while the second part gives some international cases studies on IFRS implementation. The last part of the paper gives a roadmap for effective and efficient implementation of IFRS in Cameroon.

Keywords: IPSAS, IFRS, Growth, transformation, governance, nation building

Suggested Citation:Kingsly, Professor kelly, Introduction and Rationale for IPSAS and IFRS Implementation (September 14, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3037109 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3037109