IFAC provides digital access to international accounting standards

The International Federation of Accountants debuted eIS, a new way to access global auditing, assurance, ethics and public sector accounting standards online.

eIS, short for e-International Standards, technology offers direct access to standards developed by the International Audit and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB), as well as support, reference and guidance materials.

IFAC collaborated with its affiliated standard-setting boards to create a better way to access the various standards. The eIS system has a responsive design that can function on mobile, tablet and desktop devices. It features search capabilities; access to related resources; pop-up access to references; version control capabilities; and navigable pages with multiple viewing modes.

“Rooted in our commitment to the public interest, this platform responds to stakeholder needs by making international standards and their accompanying resources accessible and easy to use,” said IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey in a statement Thursday. “As we continue to focus on modern approaches and the use of technology to enhance our profession, the development of eIS was a natural next step in supporting our members around the world, and the 3.5 million professional accountants they represent.”

Courtesy of IFAC

Separately, the IPSASB announced Thursday that it issued guidance on the capitalization of borrowing costs. The new pronouncement in Amendments to IPSAS 5, Borrowing Costs – Non-Authoritative Guidance adds implementation guidance and illustrative examples to IPSAS 5. The new material shows how the existing principles for when borrowing costs can be capitalized should be applied in various regularly encountered public sector contexts. No amendments are proposed to the authoritative material in IPSAS 5, and the existing option to expense or capitalize borrowing costs is retained.

“We undertook this project to illustrate how to apply existing principles in IPSAS 5 to scenarios that are unique to the public sector,” said IPSASB chair Ian Carruthers in a statement. “This new guidance should support our constituents in applying the existing standard to the practical challenges they have identified in determining which borrowing costs can be capitalized and when.”

The illustrative guidance discusses public sector-specific issues by focusing on transactions that are associated with capitalizing borrowing costs when the funds are borrowed by a related entity or a centralized lending program. The extra guidance can help with preparation of financial reporting information for public sector transactions.