Cash Basis IPSAS to be Revised

The IPSAS Board is finally getting around to revising its Cash Basis IPSAS and removing the aspects that have proved to be impractical (consolidation, third party payments and certain disclosure related to donor assistance) see the agenda of the June 2015 meeting of the IPSAS Board agenda:
http://www.ipsasb.org/meetings/ipsasb-meeting-8

This should mean that governments in the Global South are finally able to fully comply with the revised IPSAS once it is issued - currently this has not proved possible for any single government globally (mainly due to the key current requirement for full consolidation of all controlled entities - something that not a single government in the world currently undertakes. 

Where governments currently have plans to move to the accrual basis of accounting (planned for 2016 in Nigeria, for example), such plans should be delayed to take into account the proposed changes to the Cash Basis IPSAS.

The relevant agenda paper (3) can be downloaded direct from:
http://www.ipsasb.org/system/files/meetings/files/agenda_item_3_combined-v1.pdf

In 2008 the IPSAS Board established a Task Force to review the "major difficulties that public sector entities in developing economies encounter in implementing the Cash Basis IPSAS".  This Task Force reported in 2010, but no further action was taken.  The IPSAS Board now plans to develop and issue an Exposure Draft on a revised Cash Basis IPSAS.

The IPSAS Board agreed at its June 2015 meeting that a first draft ED for a revised Cash Basis IPSAS should be prepared for their next meeting in September.  This is to include the following key revisions to the current IPSAS:

(a)    Consolidation: is to be encouraged (not required) for all controlled entities.

(b)   External Assistance: requirements for disclosure of cash external assistance will be retained, but other requirements only to be encouraged and reduced (so project aid will not be required to be reported).

(c)    Third Party Payments: Requirements to report third party payments by parties outside the economic entity are to be encouraged only and so will no longer be a requirement.