A board within the International Federation of Accountants has released a standard identifying disclosures to be made by governments and other public sector entities that make their budgets publicly available.According to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board, such disclosures will contribute greatly to improving accountability. The new standard, IPSAS 24, “Presentation of Budget Information in Financial Statements,” applies to entities that adopt the accrual basis of financial reporting. Additionally, the cash basis standard, “Financial Reporting under the Cash Basis of Accounting,” has been updated to include both required and encouraged disclosures that apply to entities that adopt the cash basis of financial reporting.
Both standards, can be downloaded at www.ifac.org/store, and require that a comparison of budget and actual amounts for the reporting period be included in the financial statements
Separately, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has issued the first four final International Standards on Auditing redrafted as part of its comprehensive program to enhance the clarity of its standards. It has also approved amendments to the “Preface to International Standards on Quality Control, Auditing, Review, Other Assurance and Related Services,” which establishes the conventions to be used by the IAASB in drafting future ISAs and the obligations of auditors who follow those standards.
The IAASB has issued the following four redrafted standards:
- ISA 240, The Auditor's Responsibilities Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements;
- ISA 300, Planning an Audit of Financial Statements;
- ISA 315, Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement Through Understanding the Entity and Its Environment; and
- ISA 330, The Auditor's Responses to Assessed Risks.
The four redrafted ISAs and the amended preface were exposed for public comment in October 2005 and have a provisional effective date for audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after Dec. 15, 2008.All may be downloaded free-of-charge from the IFAC online bookstore at
