The current literature on IPSAS-adoption is not clear whether this would lead to a fiscal deficit measure that is somehow close to that reported in national accounts. This paper presents a case study with the aim to clarify the answer to this burgeoning question. The findings show that IPSAS-compliance would result in yet another deficit measure that is nowhere close to the statistical measure, providing more confusion.

Since IPSAS-compliance would neither simplify and standardise the conversion exercise required to change the governmental accounting deficit to the statistical deficit, nor would it directly lead to more reliable statistical data, one can only question the impact of the proposed EPSAS (based on IPSAS) on the quality of macro-surveillance.