Celine Chan is a Principal at the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB). Since joining the IPSASB staff in 2022, she supported sustainability reporting technical projects and strategic initiatives to deliver the IPSASB work program and is currently leading the Climate-related Disclosures Standard Project.

Prior to joining the IPSASB, Celine was an AVP in Accounting Policy and Advisory at TD Bank where she led a team advising on transactions, business and intangible valuations, and retail banking under IFRS and U.S. GAAP. Celine started her accounting career in Deloitte Canada’s assurance practice specializing in financial institutions primarily based in Toronto, Canada as well as a secondment in North Carolina, United States and a volunteer position in Tanzania.

Celine also serves as a Board member of Homeless Connect Toronto, a registered Canadian charity that engages the local community and builds partnerships to contribute to solutions for overcoming homelessness in the city.

Celine is a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant and holds a Bachelor of International Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, Canada.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB), developer of IPSAS®, international accrual-based accounting standards for the public sector, announced its new 2023 board members at its recent meeting in Portugal. The 2023 board will be a diverse, woman-majority group with members from around the world.

The new appointees to the IPSASB have been selected following a rigorous nominations and interview process involving the IFAC Nominating Committee and IPSASB leadership, overseen by the Public Interest Committee. The IFAC Board approved the recommended candidates.

The new Board members are:

• Mrs. Nor Yati Ahmad (Malaysia),
• Mr. Andrew van der Burgh (South Africa), and
• Mr. Jona Wala (Kenya).

The re-appointed Board members are:

• Dr. Kamira Muriel Sanchez Nicosia (Panama),
• Mr. Scott Showalter (USA), and
• Mrs. Patricia Siqueira Varela (Brazil).

“For the second year, the IPSASB will be a board comprising a majority of women for 2023,” said IPSASB Chair Ian Carruthers. “Diversity of Board membership is essential to ensure the delivery of high-quality standards that can strengthen public financial management globally. The appointment of new members from Africa and Asia will also be important to ensuring that our outputs meet the needs of an increasingly diverse group of users.”

The IPSASB also announced that Mr. Scott Showalter (USA) will assume the IPSASB Deputy Chair position for 2023. “I am extremely pleased that Scott has agreed to serve as my deputy. Scott brings a powerful combination of experience having served on the board since 2020 in addition to his experience as the former chair of Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board where he completed his 10-year term in June 2019,” said Mr. Carruthers. “I also want to take this opportunity to thank outgoing members Lindy Bodewig, the current Deputy Chair, Christopher Nyong, and Ajith Ratnayake for their many important contributions to our work during their time with the Board. We are extremely grateful for their dedication and commitment.”

About the IPSASB
The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) works to strengthen public financial management globally through developing and maintaining accrual-based International Public Sector Accounting Standards® (IPSAS®) and other high-quality financial reporting guidance for use by governments and other public sector entities. It also raises awareness of IPSAS and the benefits of accrual adoption. The Board receives support from the Asian Development Bank, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the New Zealand External Reporting Board, and the governments of Canada and New Zealand. The structures and processes that support the operations of the IPSASB are facilitated by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). For copyright, trademark, and permissions information, please go to permissions or contact permissions@ifac.org.

About the Public Interest Committee
The governance and standard-setting activities of the IPSASB are overseen by the Public Interest Committee (PIC), to ensure that they follow due process and reflect the public interest. The PIC is comprised of individuals with expertise in public sector or financial reporting, and professional engagement in organizations that have an interest in promoting high-quality and internationally comparable financial information.

The IPSASB held its third meeting of the year in Lisbon, Portugal on September 12-16, 2022. 

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB), developer of IPSAS®, international accrual-based accounting standards for use by governments and other public sector entities around the world, received strong overall engagement and feedback from stakeholders globally on the proposals in its recent Consultation Paper (CP), Advancing Public Sector Sustainability Reporting. The IPSASB launched its global consultation on developing a sustainability reporting framework for the public sector in May 2022 in response to stakeholder encouragement, including from the World Bank, and the consultation closed September 9, 2022.

The CP identified the drivers for public sector sustainability reporting as:

• Global public interest;
• Major economic, environmental, social and governance impacts; and
• Capital markets significance.

A motivating factor behind the IPSASB’s launch of the CP was that global public sector specific sustainability reporting guidance is needed because of challenges in applying private sector guidance for public sector reporting given the differences in focus. With its many years of experience working with other global standard setters, including the International Accounting Standards Board to maximize alignment with its public sector guidance, the IPSASB therefore proposed in the CP that its experiences, processes and relationships would enable it to develop the necessary guidance efficiently and effectively.

An overview of the feedback received over the course of the open consultation, collected through the IPSASB’s regional roundtables and from written submissions, was presented at the IPSASB’s Public Sector Standard Setters Forum this week hosted by the Order of Certified Accountants (OCC) in Cascais, Portugal, attended by more than 100 delegates from 36 jurisdictions. In addition to supporting the main proposals, the feedback strongly encouraged collaboration between IPSASB and other international standard setters, particularly the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), in using its current processes to ensure that new guidance addresses public sector needs while maximizing consistency with sustainability frameworks globally.

IFRS Foundation Executive Director, Mr. Lee White, and GRI Chief Standards Officer, Mr. Bastian Buck, addressed the Forum, and both expressed a willingness by their organizations to collaborate with the IPSASB if it decides to take forward its public sector sustainability reporting initiative.

The IPSASB will continue to analyze the written submissions in detail, and to progress discussions with key stakeholders, including potential funders, in order to decide at its December 2022 meeting on whether to proceed in 2023 with the development of public sector sustainability reporting guidance.

A global framework for public sector sustainability reporting is needed to avert climate disaster and achieve the UN SDGs. Join the IPSASB for a webinar on Advancing Public Sector Sustainability Reporting in the public sector.

Un cadre mondial pour les rapports sur la durabilité du secteur public est nécessaire pour éviter les catastrophes climatiques et atteindre les Objectifs de Développement Durables des Nations Unies.

Rejoignez-nous pour :

Se necesita un marco global para la presentación de informes de sostenibilidad del sector público para prevenir el cambio climático y lograr los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de las Naciones Unidas.

Únase al seminario web del IPSASB sobre el documento de consulta Fomentar la Presentación de Informes de Sostenibilidad en el Sector Público para:

Conocer lo que el IPSASB considera que es necesario para comenzar a desarrollar un marco para el sector público.

This Handbook contains the complete International Public Sector Accounting Standards, published as of January 31, 2022. It also includes the Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities.