Preliminary Board View: The Preface to the Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities

This version of The Preface to the Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities is a Preliminary Board View. The Preface highlights characteristics of the public sector that underpin the development of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) and Recommended Practice Guidelines (RPGs). The Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities (Conceptual Framework) acknowledges and responds to these characteristics.

The IPSASB considers that the Preface is important because it identifies areas where departures from private sector approaches to financial reporting are likely to be necessary in order to meet the objectives of financial reporting: the provision of information about the reporting entity that is useful to users of general purpose financial reports for accountability purposes and for decision-making purposes.

The Preface was previously published in April 2011 as an Exposure Draft, Key Characteristics of the Public Sector with Potential Implications for Financial Reporting, after having originally been made available as a staff-drafted document. It will not be finalized until the remaining chapters of the Conceptual Framework are completed in 2014.

However, because of the importance of the characteristics identified to the future development of IPSASs and RPGs, the IPSASB considers it important to make its current views publicly available.