A one-day technical workshop on the Implementation and Challenges of IPSAS took place on Tuesday, 3 November 2015 in Room XVIII in the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The workshop featured two main panel discussions. The morning panel discussed the current status of IPSAS implementation, the priority areas for further development; the development of future governance of the IPSAS board and meeting education, training and other capacity-building needs. The afternoon panel focused on country level practical implementation experiences.
Both sessions were be followed by a plenary discussion.
Where?
Room XVIII, E-Building, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
Her duties among others include supervision and coordination of activities of the United Nations Intergovernmental Working Group on International Accounting and Reporting Standards (ISAR) to assist developing countries and economies in transition to meet international requirements in the area of accounting and reporting. In this regard she leads UNCTAD’s work on formulating and implementation of the Accounting Development Tool (ADT), preparing a guidance on core SDG indicators for entity reporting intended to serve as a tool to assist governments to assess the private sector contribution to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, developing metadata guidance for the SDG indicator 12.6.1 in cooperation with UN Environment, as well as other activities related to corporate financial and non-financial reporting with a view to achieve better quality and international comparability of such reports based on international standards, benchmarks and good practices.
Before joining the United Nations in 2000, she was a partner at KPMG in Moscow where she was in charge of the Methodology department that advised Russian government and companies on transition to IAS/IFRS. She was also a consultant to the World Bank, OECD, EBRD, and other international organizations on accounting and finance issues. In different years she was a member of the Standards Advisory Council of the IASB, of the Education Committee and the Developing Nations Committee of the International Federation of Accountants. She was previously a Professor at Moscow State University teaching accounting and finance and was elected as American Accounting Association Distinguished International Lecturer for 1997.
She holds a PhD degree in accounting from Moscow State University and was a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University, California, in 1992-1993.
Ian Ball is Chairman of CIPFA International and a Principal Advisor at the International Federation of Accountants. Mr. Ball has extensive experience in designing and managing public sector financial systems and implementing public sector financial reforms.
Mr. Ball served as IFAC’s Chief Executive Officer from 2002 until March 2013. In this role,
Mr. Ball was responsible for developing and managing the execution of IFAC’s strategy. He led a
staff of professionals who support independent standard-setting boards in the areas of auditing
and assurance, ethics, accounting education, and public sector financial reporting. At IFAC he
was also involved in developing guidance and in delivering a range of other programs to support
professional accountants worldwide in providing high-quality service to their clients or employers.
Mr. Ball is also a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, where he served
as a member of the Council, the Executive Board and the Financial Reporting Standards Board,
and of CPA Australia. He has degrees in accounting from Victoria University of Wellington and a
PhD from the University of Birmingham, England.
Alta is Executive Director, Quality & Development at the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) where she is responsible for global accountancy profession development initiatives, including: accountancy capacity building and Accountability. Now.—an initiative focused on transparency and accountability in the public sector; quality and membership, including the IFAC Member Compliance Program; and human capital and intellectual property management.
She joined the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) in 2002, and served as deputy director before transitioning to IFAC, where she has served in various executive roles, including governance and nominations; strategic planning; risk management; finance; operations & information technology, human resources; and intellectual property. She has also overseen activities in relation to professional accountants in business and those working in small practices, as well as the IFAC Global Knowledge Gateway.
From 1997 through 2002, she worked at the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), becoming its Technical Director in 2000. In 1996, she worked at Amalgamated Banks of South Africa where she was responsible for professional development of the internal audit function. Prior to that, she worked in the national technical and training office of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Alta is originally from South Africa, qualified as a Chartered Accountant (SA), and holds a Master’s Degree in financial management.
John was project coordinator for the IPSASB’s Conceptual Framework project, the IPSASB’s main strategic priority in 2012-2014 and was also the lead author for the components of the Framework on elements, recognition and measurement. He has also been heavily involved with the IPSASB’s work on long-term fiscal sustainability and social benefits.
John was with the UK institute, CIPFA, from January 2000 until March 2005. Previously he has worked for the UK Audit Commission and the Audit Office of New South Wales. John has postgraduate degrees in the electoral politics of the United States from the University of Essex.
Lewis has worked in the public sector and international development for more than 30 years and in more than 30 countries. He was a lead public sector specialist for the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia region, with more than 8 years’ experience in the Bank.
Prior to joining the Bank he was a senior executive in the Australian Government Department of Finance and a senior official in the UK HM Treasury with responsibility for development and implementation of leading edge public administration reforms.
He has also worked as an independent consultant on PFM in South East Asia and Eastern Europe.
Lewis has contributed to many books and published journal articles on various public sector management issues. He has academic qualification in economics, accounting and business management. He is a member of CPA Australia and a Lifetime Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration of Australia.
Giles is the Executive Director for Development and New Markets at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. He has nearly 25 years experience in the public service and consultancy sectors, covering professional training, data management and public financial management development.
He was part of the team that developed the accountancy training programme commissioned by UNDP and currently being delivered to 11 UN bodies, covering over 600 staff across the world. He also led the development of the first global Certificate in IPSAS (CertIPSAS), available online from CIPFA.
Giles leads on CIPFA’s international developments, creating partnerships with local accounting bodies to support public services in many countries. Whilst based in London, he travels widely to promote good public financial management and IPSAS adoption.
Jim Osayande Obazee is the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. In that capacity, he oversees the setting, monitoring and enforcement of Financial Reporting Standards and Corporate Governance practices in both Public and Private Sectors of the Nigerian economy. He is also responsible for harmonizing the activities of relevant professional and regulatory bodies in Nigeria. In his earlier role, he has been on attachment to FASB, USA and ASB, Canada. He was the Chairman of the 29th Session of UNCTAD-ISAR and Chairman of the Committee of the Roadmap to the adoption of IFRS in Nigeria. He holds an M.Sc in Accounting, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and a member of American Accounting Association.
Pamela Monroe Ellis was appointed Auditor General in 2008 and is responsible for the effective management of the Government of Jamaica’s financial management systems and compliance with financial management policies. She spent the early part of her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Staff Accountant. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA, UK). She is also a member (as Auditor General) of the Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (CAROSAI), International Association of Supreme Audit Institutions’ (INTOSAI) Working Group on the Value and Benefit of Supreme Audit Institutions and Board Member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). She also chairs the ICAJ’s Investigations Committee.
Ingrida Muckutė is the Director of the Accounting Methodology Department of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania since July 2004. She has gained her experience as a Senior Consultant in Andersen and later in Ernst&Young as a member of audit and related services teams. Later on she continued her professional activities as a Financial Controller in j.s.c. Konica Minolta Baltia. In the Ministry of Finance she has initiated the public sector accounting reform, has been involved in its implementation through all its stages: from the concept paper and the Public Sector Accountability Law to training programs for public sector accountants. She chairs the National Public Sector Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards Committee and National Business Accounting Standards Committee. She also has experience as a lecturer on public sector accounting and financial reporting standards. Ingrida Muckutė graduated Vilnius University with a master degree in Accounting, Finance and Banking.
Angela Eck is a Global Business Expert in SAP’s Public Sector solution organization. In her role she is assessing customer and market requirements and supporting SAP’s solution strategy with focus on public sector accounting. In particular Angela is working with strategic customers and partners on accounting transformation and accounting standards like International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS/EPSAS). Her responsibility includes customer and partner collaborations related to the SAP next generation business software solution: SAP S/4 HANA. In her role she represented SAP in numerous business events as speaker. Angela joined the SAP Public Sector organization in 1995 and is based out of SAP SE headquarters, Walldorf, Germany.
