Strong NFP Response to New Accounting Guide
12 April 2016 at 9:13 am
A new guide from accounting peak body CPA Australia, which helps Not for Profits meet the requirements of recently issued accounting standards, has had a large interest from the sector.
Both the public and Not for Profit sectors are responsible for a very large range and volume of assets, representing a highly significant investment of public or partly-public funded resources.
The valuation of public and NFP sector assets is a highly specialised field often requiring detailed accounting, engineering and valuation knowledge, and the CPA Australia publication provides detailed guidance on valuation and depreciation.
When the Australian Accounting Standards Board standardised the definition of fair value, the guide was developed to provide a central point of guidance on the accounting standards requirements and underlying concepts applicable to valuation and depreciation.
Following changes to the Australian Accounting Standards, CPA Australia revised its Guide to Valuation and Depreciation for Public and Not-for-Profit Sectors, incorporating the latest developments across all jurisdictions.
The concepts and guidance can be applied to both public sector and Not for Profit organisations that adopt accrual accounting and regularly revalue their assets to fair value.
Both a high-level, non-technical understanding of the subject matter and more detailed guidance for those from a technical background, including accountants, valuers and engineers, are covered in the guide.
The change in the technical accounting requirements, along with a myriad of approaches adopted by practitioners and valuers, has, in turn, also created challenges for auditors.
CPA Australia‘s guide provides useful insights to auditors seeking to obtain assurance on the assets of an audited entity, particularly the valuation and depreciation of such assets.
Authored by David Edgerton FCPA, the guide has also had significant input from sector and subject-matter experts.
The guide was launched in Canberra at an event for finance leaders in the public sector.
Download the full document here.
