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The global financial crisis has demonstrated that the public sector as well as the private sector needs the highest quality accounting standards. Around the world, accounting in the public sector is practiced in diverse ways and struggles to achieve comparable standards in terms of accountability and transparency. IPSAS Explained is a new guidebook providing the most comprehensive overview of the key global issues.

The book carries the name: IPSAS Explained - A Summary of International Public Sector Accounting Standards, written by Thomas Müller-Marqués Berger who is a partner with Ernst & Young and a member of the IPSAS Board. Further information about the author and how to buy the book, you can find here (http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470683929,descCd-authorInfo.html).

Opening with a thorough description of the structure and organization of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB), the book goes on to give an overview of the principles of such key topics as the accrual basis of accounting as against cash basis, the history, scope and authority of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), the strategy of the IPSASB as well as the standard-setting procedures. Additionally the various measurement bases (cost, present value, fair value) are introduced. A special focus of the book is on the implications of the current financial crisis on public sector accounting. The main part of the book consists of a concise summary of each IPSAS (including all IPSASs, the current exposure drafts as well as the Cash Basis IPSAS).

The book shows that EY works at the cutting edge in the area of governmental/public sector accounting.

The IPSASB has also launched a review of the Cash Basis IPSAS. The purpose of the review is to determine whether the IPSAS should be modified or if further guidance should be provided.

Finally, the IPSASB has released the 2009 Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Pronouncements. It can be downloaded free from the IPSASB-website. The edition of 2007 has been translated into French and Spanish.

If interested, one can subscribe to the IPSASB eNews on the IPSAS-webpage.

The past few months, the IPSASB has launched eight new Exposure Drafts, seven of them have already been commented

• ED 36 Agriculture: This Exposure Draft proposes requirements for the accounting treatment of, and disclosures related to, agricultural activity.
• ED 38 Financial Instruments: recognition and measurement: The objective of this Exposure Draft is to propose requirements for the recognition and measurement of financial assets, financial liabilities and some contracts to buy or sell non-financial items.
• ED 37 Financial Instruments: Presentation: The objective of this Exposure Draft is to propose requirements for the classification of financial instruments, from the issuer’s perspective, into financial assets, financial liabilities and net assets/equity, and for presenting financial instruments as liabilities or net assets/equity and for offsetting financial assets and financial liabilities.
• ED 39 Financial Instruments: Disclosures: The objective of this Exposure Draft is to propose disclosure requirements for financial assets, financial liabilities and net assets/equity, the risks associated with holding financial instruments, and the entitys strategy for mitigating those risks.
• ED 41 Entity combinations from exchange transactions. The objective of this Exposure Draft is to propose the accounting treatment for Entity Combinations from Exchange Transactions. The Exposure Draft is converged with IFRS 3,“Business Combinations” and adapted for public sector entities, where appropriate.
• ED 40 Intangible Assets: The objective of this Exposure Draft is to propose the accounting treatment for intangible assets of public sector entities. The Exposure Draft is converged with IAS 38 “Intangible Assets” and adapted for public sector entities, where appropriate
• ED 42 Improvements to IPSAS: The objective of this Exposure Draft is to propose improvements to 12 IPSASs in order to converge with amendments to International Financial Reporting Standards in the IASB’s, “Improvements to IFRSs”

There is one new Exposure Draft that is still open for comment and you are invited to submit your comments to publicsectorpubs@ifac.org by 30^th of April, 2010;

• Reporting on the Long-Term Sustainability of Public Finances

The book: IPSAS Explained - A Summary of International Public Sector Accounting Standards van Thomas-Müller-Marqués Berger is now available in the library of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Ghent.