Accounting Experts Offer IPSAS Approach To Meet Global Trends

OVER the years, accounting as a subject and discipline, has poised a great challenge to schools, institutions, civil societies, public services and other numerous areas of human endeavours, which need it for the vital roles it plays in the economic and social system of any
nation.

Though there is no precise record stating when accounting started, but available information suggests that record keeping is as old as man and has given undeniable assessment to the development of mankind through its commitment to acute financial principles and
Laudable business values.

“Accounting,” as defined by many renowned
professionals, “is the process of recording, sorting and summarizing data related to business transactions and events, also concerned with reporting and interpreting the data of the society.”

According to Dappa Maharajah, the President of Moriyeke Ventures Inc, “The accountants are relied upon so much, not only of their analytical
and decision making skills but also because of
their objectivity, integrity and detection to service,” and expatiated further to be advisors and professionals who are agents of change in the changing world and help analyze how money is spent by public officers.

Several professionals in the accounting field have identified some accounting related challenges facing utilisation of accounting for national growth and development in Nigeria, the largest African country in the world. Among some of those challenges include: organisations and business firms that do not maintain any intelligible form of accounting records, failure to adopt modern accounting techniques in the management of organisations, poor fiscal management by government manifesting in outrageous expenditure deficits.

Others are: allegations of tax evasion practice allegedly abated by accountants and auditors, arbitrary pricing policies of Nigeria parastatal and organisations, just to mention a few. In the recent times, Association of Chartered
Certified Accountants (ACCA) organised a training session for university students in the South Western states of Nigeria, and the last edition held in Akure, where it acquainted them with the basic prerequisites of the profession.

The Business development Manager of ACCA, Mr. Akinyemi Adeyemi emphasized: “We believe that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development. We aim to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards.”

He noted that ACCA and other interest groups “actively seek to enhance the public value of accounting in society through international research and we take a progressive stand on global issues to ensure accountancy as a profession continues to grow in reputation and influence.”

It then becomes imperative, due to the ever-changing world and advancement in technology, for accountants to take a critical look into the present practice of the accounting profession with a view to channelling appropriate strategies to square up with future trends
And challenges.

Nigeria, in 2011, adopted International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), which is a new phase and advancement on the preparation of financial statements by public sector in the country. The adoption of IPSAS poised a lot of challenges towards financial reporting in the public sector entities, which caused a big vacuum on how to fast track the teaching of the new technique among students, civil servants and those embarking on professional examinations.

In a concerted effort to make accountancy relevant, a tool for national development and facilitate teaching of IPSAS in Nigeria, the former Accountant General of the Federation and President of J.K. Consulting Company Ltd, Kayode Naiyeju co-authored a book titled:
Government Accounting in Nigeria: An IPSAS Approach together with Prof. Eddy Omolehinwa from Department of Accounting, University of
Lagos.

The book evolves on the previous one by same authors, titled: Theory and Practice of Government Accounting in Nigeria (2011), which
Was written to keep the aforementioned and other stakeholders abreast of developments in government accounting in Nigeria. Some chapters of the book, which will be reviewed by Prof. Isah Dandago, the Kano state commissioner for Finance and Mr Wale Edun, former Commissioner for Finance, Lagos state expose students and professionals to the rudiments of IPSAS.

The authors in chapter 2 look beyond the scope of IPSAS by expatiating on public financial management, its objectives and its importance to a country like Nigeria, discussing the challenges militating against the Nigerian government in its attempts to achieve the objectives of public financial management.

Mainly, chapter three of the book highlights
the roles of International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in setting the standards called International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for use in the private sector and International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) in setting IPSAS for use by public sector entities, also portraying how IASB has facilitated the work of IPSASB.

Chapters 17, 18 and 19 identify the relevant IPSASs used for the book, discuss the main financial statements under cash-basis IPSAS while the main financial statements under accrual-basis respectively. They noted that government has made efforts towards successful implementation of IPSAS in the country by introducing some reforms in government accounting, which include Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), Treasury Single Account (TSA) and the National Charts of Accounts.

Naiyeju and Eddy revolve five out of the 21 chapters of the book on the various areas of government budgeting in the country to highlight the central role of budgeting in government accounting, revealing specifically in chapter 11 the challenges of capital budget
implementation in Nigeria.

The 2007 Fiscal Responsibility Act, which encapsulates financial control, is discussed extensively in chapter four while the sources and allocation of government revenue in Nigeria is given out-most attention in chapter seven.

However, they posit in chapter 12 that special accounts of government should be proscribed to promote transparency and accountability, reflecting so much on government contracts and their intrinsic nature and the fundamental principles of procurement.

Prof. Omolehinwa and the J.K. Naiyeju noted that the National council on Public Procurement was still to be set up as at the end of 2014, more than seven years since the Public Procurement Act came into existence. They discussed Public Accountability in Nigeria and Sovereign Wealth Fund in chapter 20 and advising the various tiers of government in chapter 21 on why the case between the Federal government and the state governments in the Supreme Court should be settled out of court in order to prevent the “sudden death” of the fund.

Their words: “This book will also be a veritable source of information to all public servants, political office holders, civil society organisations, international organisations and other stakeholders.”