A great diversity of accounting and financial reporting methods challenge the comparison of financial information among countries or across government levels in the public sector. In striving for transparency and accountability, International Public Sector Accounting Standards, shortly IPSAS, aim to provide an accurate and fair view of financial positions, financial performance and cash flows. The IPSAS are developed by the IPSAS Board (IPSASB) with the aim of improving the quality of financial
reporting at a global level and providing comparable financial information. By now, the international standard-setting Board has developed 42 accrual-based standards and one cash-based standard. Approximately 80 countries and organisations apply IPSAS, however, to different extents. IPSAS can be implemented either directly or indirectly through national standards.
As the first of four chapters about IPSAS in this book, this chapter aims to give an introduction to IPSAS by describing the history of IPSAS and elaborating on its spread and use. Two case examples are provided to illustrate the implementation process of IPSAS. First, Austria has implemented IPSAS-like accrual accounting. Second, Germany does not apply IPSAS so that the reasons for refusing to adopt IPSAS are outlined. Finally, findings from empirical studies on IPSAS are summarised.