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FMI
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IGF JOURNAL
VOLUME 25, NO. 2
A DAWN FOR EUROPEAN PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
endorsement experience any plans for
significant deviations fromIPSAS should
be carefully considered in the context of
achieving consistency and comparability
of government accounting around the
world. But even with IFRS, the EC has
recently embarked on an evaluation of
IFRS’ economic impact 10 years after
its introduction.
The proposed governance structure of
the EPSAS standing setting process and
oversight bodies is causing controversy.
There are issues of independence,
political neutrality and sovereignty
at stake. These will all need to be
taken into account if the new standard
setting body is to gain public trust and
confidence. It is perhaps remarkable
that the EC proposals have emerged at a
time when the World Bank, OECD and
IMF are consulting on the governance
and oversight of IPSASB. Is this the
beginning of competition in public
sector accounting standard setting? One
would hope not.
It is critical for EU Member States to
account on a consistent and comparable
basis that is aligned with those countries
in the rest of the world. The overriding
question is whether the “EPSAS pill”
will be better than the “IPSAS pill” for
curing the financial reporting illnesses
of the past or make them worse. Of
course, the test will be in the design.
About the Author:
Gillian Fawcett is Head of Public Sector for the Association of Chartered
Certified Accountants (ACCA) Global responsible for developing
international policy on technical matters affecting finance professionals
in public services.
Before joining ACCA, Gillian was a Senior Fellow working with the Office
for Public Management (OPM) in the organisational development and
policy team. She has also worked for the Audit Commission in the UK,
where she was Senior Policy Advisor with expertise in corporate governance, financial
management, performance management and human rights and equalities. In 2005, she
was seconded to the UK Parliament as Deputy Head of the Scrutiny Unit, responsible for
providing professional financial and performance management support to a wide range of
select committees.
Most recently, she was appointed as a Specialist Advisor to a House of Commons Ad Hoc
Committee. She is Vice Chair of the Macro Economic Committee for the European Centre
of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services (CEEP). She is also a member of
the Federation of European Accountants (FEE) and the Confederation of Asian and Pacific
Accountants (CAPA) public sector committees. Also, she was formerly Specialist Advisor
to the Communities and Local Government Parliamentary Select Committee and a non-
executive of the Legal Action Group (UK). Gillian has an MBA and began her career as a
qualified accountant.
fmi
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Volunteer
Recognition
Halifax’s Mike Haley
from Charlottetown. It was through Mike’s efforts that the
Chapter’s most recent Social Media learning event was able to
occur flawlessly. He has also volunteered his many talents to
FMI including analysis of feedback following Chapter sessions,
review and critique of Chapter news for the Journal, as well
as, professional article submissions. His travels frequently take
him to Ottawa where he has the opportunity to attend national
PD events and experience the broader facets of FMI. Mike’s
talents, expertise and enthusiasm make him a great asset to the
Halifax Chapter.
Mike Haley is president and Founder of Landmark Decisions
Inc. and a valued member of the Halifax Chapter Executive.
His talents and expertise in arranging for speakers for the
Chapter’s professional development sessions have been
invaluable. To name a few… Jamie Tibbetts, CFO for Health
Canada; Mark de Jonge, Olympic Medalist; Jane Washburn,
Chief of Strategy Management for the Government of New
Brunswick; Dr. Anatoliy Gruzd, Director of the Social Media
Lab at Dalhousie University; and Jodi Leblanc, Values and
Ethics Advisor at Veterans Affairs Canada, who spoke on-line
