Interpretation and Application of IPSAS

5 Financial Statements

The objective of general purpose financial reports (GPFRs) are to provide information that is useful to a wide range of users and stakeholders. Note that Chapter 2 in the Conceptual Framework for GPFR by public sector entities (released in October 2014) is dedicated to the objectives and users of GPFR (in this book this is covered in detail in Chapter 4).

Example 5.1   Examples of users of GPFRs

Service recipients

Resource providers

External auditors

Regulators

Governments

Stakeholders in society such as the voters.

GPFRs more specifically provide information to users for both accountability and decision-making purposes (see IPSASB, 2014 Conceptual Framework).¹ The usefulness of the financial statements to the users thereof is enhanced if they are comparable and understandable. Comparability and understandability of the financial statements is underpinned by consistency, from year to year, in the presentation of the financial statements of public sector entities. IPSAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements provides the basic framework for preparing the statement of financial position, statement of financial performance, and statement of changes in net assets/equity. IPSAS 1 also provides public sector entities with the flexibility to adapt formats and headings to present their information in a way that aids understanding of the specific entity. It should be noted that IPSAS 1 does not apply to condensed interim financial information nor does it ...