Mauritius: Technical Assistance Report-Towards Accrual Accounting and the Adoption of International Standards

IMF Staff Country Reports, October 27, 2017

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Discusses technical advice and recommendations of the IMF mission to the authorities of Mauritius regarding implementation of an accrual accounting framework and the adoption of international standards.
Focus areas include: Accounting standards, Accrual accounting, Budget planning and preparation, Financial statements, Fiscal accounting and reporting, Public financial management (PFM).

The adoption of an accrual accounting framework and international standards is central to strengthening public financial management and the preparation of consolidated financial statements.
Applying a common reporting framework across public sector entities will simplify implementation and create efficiencies in consolidation.
Accrual financial statements provide information that should be compared and reconciled with budget and budgetary reports to ensure consistency between accounting and fiscal reporting.

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) should be applied by all public sector entities unless the primary objective of the entity is return on investor equity.
- Rationale: This exception preserves appropriate reporting for entities whose primary objective is commercial return while simplifying the overall public sector framework.
Implement accrual accounting across the public sector to facilitate consolidated financial reporting and to improve comparability with budgetary information.
Ensure accrual financial statements are compared and reconciled with budget and budgetary reports as part of implementation.

Terms emphasized in the report include: Accounting standards, Accrual accounting, accrual basis, accrual IPSAS, BCG statement, Budget planning and preparation, cash basis, cash flow, CR, double entry, Financial statements, financial statements present, Fiscal accounting and reporting, IPSAS financial statements, ISCR, policy development.