The Guide aims first and foremost to help IFAC member organizations and their members in practice, especially SMPs, with the implementation of ISRS™ 4410 (Revised), Compilation Engagements, which is one of the International Standards on Related Services™ developed exclusively by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).
The voice of your professional accountancy organization (PAO) matters.
The accountancy profession is most successful and sustainable with the support of healthy national and regional professional accountancy organizations (PAOs) that have robust, effective relationships with their national and regional stakeholders, including government and regulators.
The success of any PAO relies in large part on its ability to effectively communicate, and demonstrate, its relevance to society. This begins early in a PAO’s development with promotion of:
Developed in conjunction with CPA Canada, this guide aims to help professional accountants in practice, especially those operating in small- and medium-sized practices (SMPs), in conducting review engagements in compliance with International Standard on Review Engagements (ISRE) 2400 (Revised), Engagements to Review Historical Financial Statements.
This guidance was written for all organizations, regardless of their size or structure, private or public, to support the accountancy profession’s facilitation of sustainable organizations, financial markets, and economies by providing guiding principles to manage the complexities of performing a robust project and investment appraisal. Greater rigor in the appraisal and decision process can be achieved by using the principles as a benchmark against which to assess an organization’s current practice.
A Guide for Professional Accountancy Organizations
A strong and well-governed professional accountancy organization (PAO) produces and sustains a strong accountancy profession that is able to serve the public interest and contribute to economic stability and growth. A successful PAO gains much of its strength from the sense of identity, benefits, and rights that members derive from membership; and from the contributions that individual members and firms make to the PAO in recognition of its public interest perspective.
This third edition of the guide features enhancements to the two sample manuals, as well as other refinements for clarity and consistency with International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC) 1. The guide contains the requirements set out in ISQC 1 in addition to implementation guidance, including discussion material and an integrated case study that can be used as the basis for education and training.
IPSAS 33 lays out how an entity that has never applied accrual IPSAS Standards can begin doing so in a consistent, credible way. Moving to accrual accounting can be technically complex and lengthy process. IPSAS 33 provides transitional reliefs (temporary exemptions and accommodations) to reduce burden and ease the transition to accrual-based IPSAS Standards.
“The successful application of IPSAS 33 is often a cornerstone of the adoption and implementation of IPSAS Standards. A government that uses IPSAS Standards is better equipped to make sound financial decisions, and we want to make the journey to implementation as easy as we can.” said IPSASB Chair Ian Carruthers. “This pronouncement does not to change the objective, scope, or available exemptions in IPSAS 33, rather, the updated version of IPSAS 33 clarifies the guidance, making it easier for entities to successfully complete their IPSAS transition journey.”
IPSAS 33 was originally issued in 2015 and has been applied by a number of public sector entities during their transition to accrual basis IPSAS Standards. In response to user feedback, the updated IPSAS 33 provides:
More user-friendly guidance to support the entity’s broader accrual transition journey;
Clearer relief provisions throughout the entire transition process; and
Reliefs that encourage earlier recognition and measurement of items, helping entities achieve IPSAS compliance as early as possible.
The newly published 2025 version of IPSAS 33 addresses these concerns while maintaining all existing reliefs that are available in the 2015 version.
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 Standards), IPSASB Sustainability Reporting Standards (IPSASB SRS™ Standards) and other high-quality financial reporting guidance for use by governments and other public sector entities. It also raises awareness of IPSAS Standards and IPSASB SRS Standards and promotes the adoption and implementation of these to enhance the quality and consistency of practice throughout the world and strengthen the transparency and accountability of public sector finances and sustainable development. The Board receives support from the Asian Development Bank, the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, the New Zealand External Reporting Board, the government of Canada, and The World Bank. 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.
