The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has issued two exposure drafts as it moves to develop a conceptual framework for the general purpose financial reporting of public sector entities.
The exposure drafts, Ed2 Conceptual Framework For General Purpose Financial Reporting By Public and ED3 Measurement of Assets and Liabilities in Financial Statements, will cover financial statement elements, recognition of elements and measurements of assets and liabilities in financial statements.
Unlike the conceptual framework of the international Accounting standards Board (IASB), IPSASB proposes additional elements of financial statements such as deferred inflows and outflows and ownership contributions and distributions.
These additions are suggested as a response to numerous non-exchange transactions that are prevalent in public sector entities.
The exposure draft also focuses on selecting measurement bases that meet the objectives of financial reporting, decision making and accountability. The ED suggests that a cost basis will often be appropriate in the case of public sector assets as they are largely held for their operational capacity.
Deadline for comment on the exposure drafts is 30 April 2013
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International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board
