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Local government executives must force through the international financial reporting standards (IFRS), senior accountants have warned. Officials at CIPFA and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) last week urged public bodies to intensify their focus on IFRS, claiming there was still much work to be done to ensure a smooth transition to a new annual accounting regime. IFRS, which has already been implemented across the private sector, was due to be introduced across the public sphere last year, but was delayed until 2009 amid fears public bodies were not ready. Speaking at a conference on the issue last week, CIPFA's policy and technical director, Ian Curruthers (pictured), said: ‘Considerable progress has been made, but departments and other bodies should not underestimate the work required to produce shadow accounts which can be given a clear audit opinion.' Nigel Sleigh-Johnson, ICAEW head of financial reporting, added: ‘IFRS is now upon the public sector, and although the process has been delayed, there is no room for complacency. Strong leadership, commitment and a top-down approach are essential for successful delivery. The challenges of the IFRS implementation [also] need to be understood throughout the organisation.' The Treasury delayed IFRS amid fears the new regime would expose billions of pounds of unknown public debt – forcing the Government to break its old ‘fiscal rules' on borrowing. The new regime requires public bodies to reflect the full cost of private-finance initiative (PFI) projects in annual accounts. Now that the Government has ditched its fiscal rules because of the recession, there is less political concern over an estimated £30bn of annual PFI liabilities making their way on to the Government's books.

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FINANCE

Force through IFRS council bosses told

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