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ARCHIVED - Management Response and Action Plan for the Recommendations of the Evaluation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board Contribution Program

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Management has read the evaluation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board's (IPSASB) Contribution Program prepared by Kelly Sears Consulting.

This Management Response and Action Plan has been developed by the Government Accounting Policy and Reporting Division of the Office of the Comptroller General. In addition, consultations on the Management Response and Action Plan were conducted throughout the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG).

The OCG is responsible for the administration of the contribution agreement on behalf of Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and is in agreement with the findings of the report that the contribution program met its immediate outcomes, and to some extent, its intermediate outcomes.  As a result, OCG will put forth a request to the President of the Treasury Board recommending that the terms and conditions of the program be renewed, with some actions to improve the desired outcomes.

Recommendation 1

The Government of Canada via TBS should continue providing financial support to the IPSASB's international public sector accounting standards activities.

Management Response

The OCG agrees with the recommendation to continue to provide financial support to the activities of the IPSASB.

The following actions will be taken in response to the evaluation's findings:
Specific Actions to Be Taken Dates Office of Primary Interest
  • The OCG will coordinate the preparation of the new contribution agreement and seek the approval of the President to continue the contribution agreement for another three years commencing April 1, 2011, under the existing terms and conditions and funding level.
Winter 2011 OCG

Recommendation 2

TBS should continue to collaborate with the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and the Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) to engage the Canadian public sector accounting community and stakeholders in the development of high quality global accounting standards.

Management Response

The OCG has established good working arrangements with representatives from the various provincial comptrollers' offices in analysing and encouraging discussion on proposed changes to accounting standards in Canada and at the international level.  We agree with the recommendation to continue to engage and encourage participation among the members of this community.

The following actions will be taken in response to the evaluation's findings:
Specific Actions to Be Taken Dates Office of Primary Interest
  • The OCG will continue to monitor the accounting standards' development process for IPSASB and will raise proposals issued for comment during the regular teleconference calls with the provincial comptrollers' offices.
Ongoing as IPSASB reviews existing standards and proposes modifications OCG

Recommendation 3

In considering the objectives of a future funding arrangement, the TBS should consider requesting that IPSASB commission an independent study on the constraints and benefits from adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) at the national, state and local government level.

Management Response

This recommendation cannot be implemented by the OCG as an assessment of constraints and benefits from the adoption of IPSAS at the various levels of government goes beyond the scope of the objective of the contribution being made by the Government of Canada, which is to support the standards development activities of the IPSASB.  It is also incumbent upon each jurisdiction and its appropriate standard-setting body to determine the extent to which it will adopt IPSASB standards and the timing thereof.

Recommendation 4

The TBS should encourage the IPSASB to increase public communications and consultation processes in the French language to reflect the bilingual status of Canada nationally as well as international requirements.

Management Response

This recommendation cannot be implemented by the OCG.  While the Government of Canada operates in both official languages and recognizes the merit of international organizations doing so as well, the IPSASB has chosen to use English as the primary language for the development of accounting standards.  Although IPSASB receives a portion of its funding from a Government of Canada contribution agreement, the Government does not have the ability to control the language in which communications and consultation processes are undertaken, therefore, it is not in our ability to control this aspect of IPSASB's operating environment.

Recommendation 5

The TBS should develop a communication strategy in support of Canada's contribution in the development of public sector accounting standards and encourage the IPSASB to proactively communicate the extent and benefits received from the Government of Canada.

Management Response

The OCG agrees with the recommendation to encourage the IPSASB to communicate the extent of financial assistance provided by the Government of Canada.

The following actions will be taken in response to the evaluation's findings:
Specific Actions to Be Taken Dates Office of Primary Interest
  • The OCG will require the IPSASB to more clearly communicate the financial contribution it receives from the Government of Canada as part of the renewed funding agreement.
Ongoing over the next 3 years OCG