The IPSASB held its first meeting of the year in New York on March 21-25, 2022.
The IPSASB approved its global consultation on developing a sustainability reporting framework for the public sector. The IPSASB plans to launch this pivotal consultation in early May, alongside its Natural Resources Consultation Paper and the IPSASB Mid-Period Work Program Consultation Feedback Statement.
Advancing public sector sustainability reporting is both important and urgent. The IPSASB is pleased to be able to lead the debate. Watch this space for launch details and how to get involved.
The IPSASB agreed to add new projects to its 2022 work program:
- Presentation of Financial Statements; Differential Reporting;
- Reporting Sustainability Program Information; and
- Advancing Public Sector Sustainability Reporting Consultation Paper.
As resources become available in 2022, work on the above projects will commence.
The landscape for IPSASB’s work has changed since the Mid-Period Consultation was published, resulting in fewer resources being available than originally anticipated. The IPSASB will continue to monitor work program progress and resource availability in 2023, to look for opportunities to commence work on the limited scope projects proposed in the Mid-Period Consultation, which were strongly supported by constituents.
The IPSASB approved the Consultation Paper, Natural Resources, which will be published in May 2022, and will be open for comment until October2022. The Consultation Paper includes the IPSASB’s preliminary views on issues related to the recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure ofnatural resources, usingexamples of subsoil resources, water, and living resources.
Please register on the IPSASB website to ensure that you receive updates when this and other documents are published.
The IPSASB approved the project roadmap, including issuing an Exposure Draft as the next output for this project. The IPSASB also decided to analyze the arrangements from the perspectives of both:
- Parties to the arrangements; and
- The consolidated financial statements and separate financial statements.
The IPSASB plans to discuss concessionary leases and leases for zero or nominal consideration at the June meeting.
The IPSASB agreed to use the term ‘compliance obligation’to describe an entity’s legally binding obligation arising from revenue transaction with a binding arrangement. The IPSASB furtherdiscussed the implications of internal and external factors on the subsequent measurement of assets arising from binding arrangements. The IPSASB also continued discussing principles related to transfer expenses accounting, focusing on the timing and recognitionof transfer expenses in transactions with binding arrangements, and the allocation of consideration to the transferor’s transfer rights.
The IPSASB performed a detailedreview of the responses to ED 77, Measurement. Respondents strongly supported most of the ED proposals. The IPSASB agreed to move forward with the proposals related to Fair Value and Cost of Fulfillment, and thatdisclosure requirements should be included in the relevant IPSAS. The proposed principles related to historical cost and the measurement model policy choice are areas where further clarification is needed.
The IPSASB reviewed responses to ED 76, Conceptual Framework Update: Chapter 7, Measurement of Assets and Liabilities in Financial Statements. The IPSASB decided to retain the three-level classification proposed in ED 76. However, the term ‘Subsequent Measurement Framework’will be adopted rather than ‘Measurement Hierarchy’.
The IPSASB decided to include fair value as defined in ED 76 and to delete market value. The IPSASB instructed staff to further analyze the case for deletionof net selling price, cost of release and assumption price.
The IPSASB approved IPSAS 44, Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations with an effective date of January 1, 2025. IPSAS 44 aligns with IFRS 5, Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations and provides the accounting requirements for assets held for sale and provides presentation and disclosure requirements for discontinued operations. IPSAS 44 is expected to be published in May 2022.
The IPSASB discussed the work done by the statistical community in updating the International Statistical Standards(ISS) and the IPSASB’s role in that process. The IPSASB also reviewed the new IPSAS-ISS Alignment Dashboard, which will be a standing agenda item for future meetings and captures the IPSASB’s long standing work to reduce unnecessary differences with statistical standards to make IPSAS information useful for statistical compilation purposes. The IPSASB discussed the importance of IPSAS-ISS alignment from both conceptual and practical perspectives.
The next full meeting of the IPSASB will take place in June 2022. For more information, or to register as an observer, visit the IPSASB website (www.ipsasb.org).