The National Order of Chartered Accountants of Congo (ONEC-C) organized, from September 5 to 6 in Brazzaville, a training session for accountants on international public sector standards (IPSAS) which aim to improve the quality of financial information of entities in the said sector.
The seminar participants were refreshed on the accounting of fixed assets and inventories, the preparation of financial statements, the transition to accrual accounting and the implementation of IPSAS standards which concern the government, local authorities, public and parapublic establishments, international institutions, etc.
This standard enables resource allocation decisions based on more reliable information, and thus improves financial transparency and accountability in this area of financial management.
“The first session, in 2023, we are studying part of the standards. In 2024, we are in the second part of this training which completes the first to support the State in having more transparency in management. We have the budget for the States, that is what is produced. But having the financial statements is what is a little more difficult,” said Nicodème Azdra, chartered accountant.
International Public Sector Accounting Standards are high quality standards designed to facilitate the production of credible, high-quality financial reports that are transparent and enable users to hold government and other public sector entities to account.
Congo, which is gradually switching to accounting for financial years, needs such training to establish its economy. But changing accounting is a matter of state sovereignty.
“To change accounting, it is necessary to change information systems but also to have the financial and human resources. The expert trainer presented an outline of the plan for the State’s transition to IPSAS standards, leaving it up to the State to decide what to do next,” said a Congolese public treasury official.
Among the fundamental principles underlying the preparation of financial statements are the going concern assumption, consistency of presentation and classification, accrual accounting, and aggregation and materiality.
Onec-Congo is a professional organization with legal personality, bringing together all chartered accountants authorized to practice the profession. In Congo, Law No. 29-2019 of November 18, 2013 establishing Onec and regulating the title and profession of chartered accountant stipulates that ” No one may hold the title of certified accountant, or practice the profession, unless they are registered on the Board of the Order.”
Recall that the IPSAS standard provides essential guidance on the accounting of expenditure related to social benefits. It defines social benefits as monetary transfers paid to specific individuals and/or households to mitigate the effect of social risk.
Furthermore, more than fifteen countries in Africa are at various stages of implementing IPSAS. International bodies such as the United Nations, the African Union and the Organization of American States have adopted IPSAS.
