December 24, 2008

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In This Issue:

1. Outcomes of October 2008 IPSASB Meeting
2. IPSASB Invites Comments on Key Documents
3. Global Financial Crisis - Public Sector Impact
4. Translation of IPSASs
5. Process for Reviewing and Modifying IASB Documents
6. IPSASB Staff Changes
7. Share IPSASB eNews with Your Colleagues

1. Outcomes of October 2008 IPSASB Meeting

Meeting Highlights from the IPSASB's most recent meeting in Zurich, Switzerland are now available in English and French. A Spanish translation will be available shortly. At the October 2008 meeting, the IPSASB discussed the following topics, among others:

• Agriculture - The IPSASB discussed a preliminary draft on agriculture, which is projected to be issued as an Exposure Draft (ED) in February 2009.
• Conceptual Framework - the IPSASB considered a draft Consultation Paper to develop definitions and recognition criteria for financial statement elements as part of its ongoing project to develop a public sector conceptual framework (see also item 2 below).
• Intangible Assets - a draft ED on intangible assets was discussed. The IPSASB expects to approve an ED for publication in February 2009.
• Service Concession Arrangements - the IPSASB received strong support for this public sector project from respondents to the March 2008 Consultation Paper. Changes to the paper to address respondents' comments will be discussed in February 2009.

For details of other topics discussed, please see items 3 and 5 below as well as the Meeting Highlights, which - together with the background papers of all past IPSASB meetings - can be viewed at http://www.ifac.org/PublicSector/Meetings.php.

2. IPSASB Invites Comments on Key Documents

You are invited to comment on the following key IPSASB documents by the dates indicated:

• Exposure draft to revise IPSAS 5, Borrowing Costs. Comments are requested by January 7, 2009.
• Consultation Paper, Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities: The Objectives of Financial Reporting, The Scope of Financial Reporting, The Qualitative Characteristics of Information Included in General Purpose Financial Reports, The Reporting Entity. Comments are requested by March 31, 2009.

The documents can be viewed at http://www.ifac.org/eds.

3. Global Financial Crisis - Public Sector Impact

At its October 2008 meeting, the IPSASB discussed the current global financial and economic crisis and its impact on the public sector. Matters that were raised in the discussion included the importance of strong financial reporting standards to contribute to transparency in public sector financial reporting. In that light, the IPSASB emphasized the urgent need to develop public sector accounting standards on financial instruments. Therefore, the IPSASB will strive to approve exposure drafts for global IPSASs based on IAS 32, Financial Instruments: Presentation, IAS 39, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement, and IFRS 7, Financial Instruments: Disclosures as soon as possible, ideally as early as February 2009.

4. Translation of IPSASs

As the interest in IPSASs internationally gathers momentum, the translation of the Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Pronouncements (IPSASB Handbook) into various languages is necessary to achieve international adoption. The IPSASB Handbook has already been translated from English into a number of languages, including French, Spanish, Arabic and German. Translation of the IPSASB Handbook into Russian was completed in the first half of 2008 and the Chinese translation was recently finished. In addition, Brazil is working on translation of the IPSASs into Portuguese. See http://www.ifac.org/Translations/database.php for more information.

5. Process for Reviewing and Modifying IASB Documents

It is IPSASB's policy to converge (accrual basis) IPSASs with the corresponding IFRSs to the extent that these are appropriate for the public sector. In 2007, the IPSASB developed guidance, entitled Process for Reviewing and Modifying IASB Documents, to outline the IPSASB process for reviewing and modifying IASB documents for use in the public sector. These so called "Rules of the Road" set out the process IPSASB staff applies to identify occasions when a public sector difference warrants departure from an IASB document. The experience that IPSASB staff has gained from applying them over the past year has resulted in an updated version. The latest version has been posted on the IPSASB website (see LINK - Document Name "Process for Reviewing and Modifying IASB Documents").

These guidelines or "Rules of the Road" can be downloaded from the IPSASB home page at http://www.ifac.org/PublicSector.

6. IPSASB Staff Changes

The IPSASB welcomes Annette Davis to its team in Toronto. Annette will join the IPSASB staff in January 2009 as Technical Manager and she brings a wealth of international private and public standard setting experience, most recently in her role as Technical Advisor to an IPSASB member.

The IPSASB bids farewell, thanks and best wishes to Technical Manager Barry Naik, who has transferred to IFAC's New York office in the position of Technical Manager - Transnational Auditors Committee and Member Body Development.  In addition to supporting the Forum of Firms and the Transnational Auditors Committee, Barry will also assist in IFAC's Member Body Development program.

7. Share IPSASB eNews with Your Colleagues

The IPSASB issues regular eNews updates to keep you current on its activities and recent publications. Please forward this eNews to any interested colleagues and advise them to subscribe to IPSASB eNews by following these simple steps:

1. Go to the eNews sign-up page at http://www.ifac.org/E-news/.
2. Enter your email address, name and country.
3. Select "Public Sector eNews" from the check list as well as any other eNews alerts that you would like to receive.

You will receive the next issue of the IPSASB eNews directly into your inbox.

For more information about any of the items mentioned above or other information about the IPSASB, please contact: pr@ifac.org or visit the IPSASB's home page at http://www.ipsasb.org.

About IFAC
IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of 158 members and associates in 122 countries, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. In addition to setting international public sector financial reporting standards through the IPSASB, IFAC, through its independent standard-setting boards, sets ethics, auditing and assurance, and education standards. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.