Adopt global standards for better financial reporting
Adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in the public sector reporting framework is a must for improving transparency and accountability of financial reporting in Bangladesh.
"And this (IPSAS) should be considered for adoption today or tomorrow."
Mahmudul Hasan Khusru, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB), made the comments yesterday.
He spoke at a webinar on the 'Impact of Public Financial Reforms in Bangladesh on Public Sector Financial Reporting and Public Sector Auditing' organised by the ICAB.
"We have seen the IPSAS standards are very similar with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)," Khusru also said.
"And as we have the expertise on successful implementation of IFRS mainly in public interest entities in Bangladesh, I believe we will be highly recommended in any project for gradual adoption and implementation of IPSAS in Bangladesh."
Md Humayun Kabir, council member and past president of the ICAB, moderated the conference.
From next fiscal year, all the transaction by 10,000 entities would be done on a real-time basis, including the cash flow, said Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, comptroller and auditor general of Bangladesh, who took part in the conference as the chief guest.
In his keynote paper, Toufique Shafiqul Islam, a consultant of finance ministry, said the chartered accountants' (CA) firms have the scope for financial audit on 178 extra budgetary and public enterprise organisations.
Islam said the challenges that CA firms face during the auditing of the public enterprises are ensuring independences, increasing the coverage of audit and timely submission of audit report to the parliament.
Some other challenges they face while ensuring citizens' participations, building awareness, conducting more performance audit and financial audit, using modern auditing technology, proper monitoring, improving the quality of audit report and engaging more professional bodies, he said.
Bilquis Jahan Rimi, joint secretary of the finance division, said the financial reforms in Bangladesh started in 1989 and ended in 2001. The IPSAS is underway to be implemented in future in Bangladesh, Rimi said.
She said the field level officials of the ministries of health and education have been preparing the budget for the next fiscal year.
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