The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board® (IPSASB®) has released for comment the Consultation Paper, Natural Resources.

This Consultation Paper is the IPSASB’s first step in developing guidance on the recognition, measurement, presentation, and disclosure of natural resources in the public sector. The IPSASB welcomes the views of constituents on the proposed guidance and other matters raised in the consultation paper.

The At-a-Glance summary document provides an overview of the Consultation Paper.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board® (IPSASB®) has issued Exposure Draft (ED) 82, Retirement Benefit Plans.

The objective of this ED is to propose the accounting, presentation, and disclosure requirements for the financial statements of a retirement benefit plan. This should increase the transparency and accountability of public sector entities regarding obligations owed to public sector employees and other eligible participants who are members of the retirement benefit plan, and of any deficit in the plan.

The objective of ED 81 is to update Chapter 3, Qualitative Characteristics, and Chapter 5, Elements of Financial Statements, of the Conceptual Framework, in light of:

Smaller, less complex entities play a vital role in the world’s economy. In an increasingly complex world with evolving reporting needs, a need for a set of high-quality requirements tailored for the audits of less complex entities has emerged. With this consultation, the IAASB is moving to provide a globally consistent approach at a time where a number of jurisdictional-specific less complex entity standards are emerging, which is not in the public interest.

This exposure draft proposes revisions to the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) that broadens the definition of a public interest entity (PIE). These revisions include more categories of entities, given the level of public interest in their financial condition, for the purposes of additional independence requirements to enhance confidence in their audits.

Among other matters, the proposed revisions:

The IAASB is seeking perspectives from all of its stakeholders across the financial reporting ecosystem on whether the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) related to fraud and going concern need to be updated to reflect the rapidly evolving external reporting landscape, and, if so, in what areas.

This Consultation Paper proposes that:

• heritage items’ special characteristics do not prevent them from being assets for the purposes of financial reporting;
• heritage items should be recognized in the statement of financial position if they meet the recognition criteria in the Conceptual Framework; and
• in many cases, it will be possible to assign a monetary value to heritage assets.

It also discusses:

The IPSASB wants to hear from stakeholders what projects are most important to them in delivering the IPSASB's Strategy and Work Plan 2024-2028. Having set its overall strategy for the period 2024-2028 through a public consultation, this consultation seeks to understand stakeholders’ greatest needs in relation to individual financial reporting projects, post implementation reviews, and sustainability reporting projects.