ASSESSMENT OF INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING STANDARDS (IPSAS) IMPLEMENTATION AT AFRICAN UNION

Abstract

In the context of the increasing international integration and requirements of public sector management reform, the African Union has adopted IPSAS since 2013.A review of IPSAS adoption revealed that it presents international best practices for public sector entities, Intergovernmental and International Organizations. It emphasized the benefits for improved governance, strong accountability and transparency. The research specifically assesses the implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards at African Union. The purpose of the study was to identify the gap existing between the expected results and the current situation regarding IPSAS implementation. It looked into the driving forces that led the African Union to implement IPSAS after one year of adoption. Going forward, it located the advantages or benefits of African Union resulted from the adoption of IPSAS. It was able to highlight the challenges encountered by African Union all along the period. This study therefore was a descriptive study. It was designed to describe the extent of IPSAS implementation at African Union. The population size for the study is Headquarter, Regional and Liaison Offices of AU. Data for the study was primarily and secondarily sourced. Primary data was collected at the source by the researcher and Secondary data was collected from AU’s financial statements. From the findings, the study established that lack of ongoing and focused training to the key staff, lack of Permanent Technical Team to review technical and operational issues, recommend policy changes, and look after the enforcement of recommendations have contributed to the slow progress in implementing IPSAS standards. The study revealed that transparency, accountability, comparability, and management and decision making have been improved. The study concluded that driving forces of IPSAS adoption in AU were to align its operations with financial year, meet partners’ requirements, to attract donors and to be competitively comparable with other International Organizations.