Adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards in Public Sector of Developing Economies -Analysis of Five South Asian Countries

Abstract

We examined the extent of adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in South Asia and the challenges that are decelerating this process. The moderating organization, International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSAB), instituted IPSAS in an effort to improve financial reporting by public sector organizations and for comparability purposes. The aims of this research were to establish to what extent the IPSAS has been adopted in South Asia and determine the drawbacks contributing to its slow adoption process. To answer the study questions a literature review of the South Asian countries that have adopted the IPSAS was conducted. The study findings show that most of the South Asian nations have adopted the IPSASs though to different extents. Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have implemented the IPSAS but taking different approaches and directions, while India still uses the cash based accounting system. The key barriers include; lack of experienced staff, delay in provision of information by the public entities, and lack of a defined implementation timeframe which seem to cut across these countries.