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Website: www. au.int
Directorate of Information and Communication
Press Release Nº287/2014
Greater Transparency, Greater Governance
22 October 2014: Accra, Ghana – The
third training in a series, on the
implementation of International Public
Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) is
being held from 22-24 October 2014 for
staff of the African Union (AU) Offices and
AFCAC. AU Staff drawn from different
field of competences namely Finance,
Administration, Procurement and Human
Resources are attending the IPSAS
regulatory
framework
and
policy
dissemination training organized by the
Department Programming, Budgeting,
Finance and Accounting (PBFA).
During
the
three-day
workshop,
participants will acquire basic working knowledge of Accrual Accounting and understand
elements of Accrual Basis Financial Statements. At the end of the workshop,
participants will be able to explain how full accrual under IPSAS differs from the current
AU modified accrual basis. Participants will also discuss key areas of change vis-à-vis
policies, processes and information needs and the practical implications for
implementation that the AU needs to take cognizant of as the organization becomes
IPSAS compliant.
The adoption of IPSAS by AU reflects its administrative reform and results based policy.
The AU, Organs and Institutions have been using International Financing and
Reporting Standards (IFRS) and specific entity policies on Modified Accrual Accounting
which is a combination of cash basis and Accrual Accounting. Moving forward, Mr.
Thomas Asare, Director for the Department PBFA and Sponsor of the AU IPSAS
Project said that adopting IPSAS had led to changes of policies, processes, procedures
and entire regulatory framework. Highlighting the essence of the training, the Director
emphasized staff are expected to understand how the change affects their work.
Sensitizing the participants on the dire need to be IPSAS compliant by 31st December
2014, Mr. Asare said: “Ambitious as it will look at this point and time, it is doable and
we need to approach with a positive attitude. Preparing financial statement based on
IPSAS will not only promote transparency and accountability but also ensure the
Union’s financial statement is credible and comparable to analogous organizations.
The training will also continue for the Policy Organs of the Union in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
Proceedings of previous meetings as well as general information on AU IPSAS are
highlighted in http://pages.au.int/ipsas.
In his welcome remarks, Mr. Mohamed El-Amen, Head of AU Financial Management in
PBFA, on behalf of the Chairperson of the IPSAS Implementation Task Force (IITF), Mr.
Sam Onek, welcomed the participants and pointed out that the training is undertaken as
part of AU’s efforts to be IPSAS compliant by 31st December 2014. He also stressed
that the project is AU wide.
About AU IPSAS:
International Public Sector Accounting Standards are a set of accounting standards
issued by the IPSAS Board for use by public sector entities around the world in the
preparation of financial statements. IPSAS aims to improve the quality of general
purpose financial reporting by public sector entities, leading to better informed
assessments of the resource allocation decisions made by public entities, thereby
increasing transparency and accountability. AU embraced IPSAS primarily to record
and report AU financial transactions in accordance with international accounting
standards. Secondly, as part of the AU administrative reform; IPSAS brings the
financial statements to an international level public sector benchmarks. AU moved from
modified accrual accounting to IPSAS full accrual accounting by Executive Council
Decision and adoption by the Assembly by the Summit in January 2013.
IPSAS financial statements comprise: statement of financial position; statement of
financial performance; statement of cash flow; statement of comparison of budget and
actual.
Key areas of change include policies and guidelines; work process and information
system IPSAS specifically developed for the public sector by independent experts.
IPSAS is a series of 32 financial reporting and accounting standards. IPSAS financial
reporting is being adopted around the world by an increasing number of governments,
public authorities and international organizations. By using IPSAS AU will more
accountable to its Member States.
RA/
For further information please contact:
Mr. Biodun Adeyemo, Head of External Resource Management Division, PBFA, and Head of IPSAS
Communication and Change Management Workstream, African Union Commission
Email: AdeyemoB@africa-union.org
Mrs. Rahel Akalewold, Directorate of Information and Communication, African Union Commission, email: Rahela@africa-union.org
Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@africanunion.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia
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