IPSAS1 / SA GRAP2 Implementation (2015/16)

1 International Public Sector Accounting Standards

2 South African Standards of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice

Gauteng Session I Gauteng Session II Kwa-Zulu Natal Eastern Cape

Week 1 14 – 18 March 2016 18 – 22 April 2016 7 - 11 March 2016 14 – 18 March 2016

Week 2 11 – 15 April 2016 9 – 12 May 2016 4 – 8 April 2016 11 – 15 April 2016

Week 3 16 – 20 May 2016 30 May – 3 June 2016 9 – 13 May 2016 16 – 20 May 2016

36-credit HEQF (2007) level 8 course: 120-hours contact

The implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) or Standards of Generally

Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP) requires great knowledge of standards’ knowledge and an in-depth

understanding of its implementation. Public sector officials, both financial and non-financial, aim for full

compliance with the latest requirements of IPSAS / GRAP and seek solutions to the myriad of

implementation challenges that exist.

2

Introduction

Accreditation:

This 36-credit HEQF (2007) level 8 short course covers knowledge of the Postgraduate Diploma in Public

Finance Management approved and quality controlled as required by the South African Qualification

Authority (SAQA) and the Higher Education Qualification Committee (HEQC).

Background:

The International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) are accrual-based standards used for the preparation of general purpose financial statements by governments and other public sector entities around the world. The IPSAS aim to enhance the quality, consistency, and transparency of public sector financial reporting worldwide. IPSAS are issued by the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB). The Standards of GRAP (Generally Recognised Accounting Practices), are the IPSAS as tailored by the constitutional mandated Accounting Standards Board (ASB) for application within the South African Public Sector.

Annually IPSAS / Standards of GRAP are amended and improved, addressing accounting issues that will have an impact on the applicable reporting periods and beyond. There are also a number of accounting issues and aspects contained in the existing GRAP Standards and ASB Directives that many public sector entities appear to have been struggling with for a number of years. The need exists for those officials to be empowered with technical and practical knowledge and updates about IPSAS / the Standards of GRAP, thus it is vital that public sector officials gain a detailed understanding of these requirements and the implementation of the requirements of these Standards for accounting purposes and for Annual Financial Statement preparation.

This course will provide attending officials with a detailed IPSAS / GRAP implementation manual that will provide insightful, practical proposals to address the related implementation challenges. It will specifically include:

The IPSAS and GRAP accounting reporting frameworks applicable for 2015/16 period. Detailed reference will be made to notices and directives issued by the ASB and NT, where relevant.

A detailed discussion of the accounting treatment and disclosure requirements of IPSAS and the Standards of GRAP, read along with the Interpretations of Standards of GRAP (iGRAPS), where relevant, and practical guidance on HOW TO implement the standards. Detailed examples will be given to the attending officials on the procedures to be implemented to ensure technical GRAP compliance, e.g. the process undertaken by an entity to identify and account for its Leases arrangements in terms of GRAP 13.

A focus on the latest approved and effective IPSAS and Standards of GRAP (relevant for 2015/16 and future years).

Implementation challenges for 2015/16 and onwards and practical proposals on addressing these challenges (including proposals to address issues that have remained problematic for public sector entities over the years). Please see below this paragraph for examples of typical IPSAS / GRAP implementation issues that will be discussed.

Frequently asked questions on IPSAS / Standards of GRAP, where relevant.

3

Examples of important IPSAS / GRAP implementation issues and their practical implications that will be discussed during the course include, but are not limited to, the following:

- IPSAS 27 / GRAP 27 Agriculture. How does an entity account for living animals and/ or plants that do not form part of an agricultural activity?

- IPSAS 17 / GRAP 17 Property, Plant and Equipment. Has the entity performed an accurate and complete componentization of assets in the past? If not, what is the entity to do now?

- IPSAS 17 / GRAP 17 Property, Plant and Equipment. Fully depreciated assets still in use by the entity – why is this scenario actually in contradiction with GRAP and how does the entity account for it?

- IPSAS 19 / GRAP 19 Provisions/ iGRAP 2. How does an entity account for changes in provisions related to the rehabilitation of landfill sites if the changes emanate from events other than the normal unwinding of discount, e.g. increases in the level of the provision due additional contamination of land or material price increases?

- IPSAS 23 / GRAP 23 Revenue from non-exchange transactions. When accounting for conditional grants, what are the differences between restrictions and conditions? When does an entity account for a creditor for related receipts and how does an entity retrospectively correct creditor that should have been accounted for as revenue in the past?

- IPSAS 24 / GRAP 24 Presentation of Budget Information in Financial Statements. How does an entity disclose the accounting differences between its Budget and AFS? What are the implications of GRAP 24 on Comparison of Actual and Budgeted Amounts?

- IPSAS 25 / GRAP 25 Employee Benefits. How does an entity account for continued medical aid contributions, made by the entity, on behalf of its employees after normal retirement?

- GRAP 103 Heritage Assets. How does an entity identify and accurately measure Heritage Assets under its control? Why is it critical to identify all such Heritage Assets as early as possible? How does an entity measure Heritage Assets during the transitional period allowed by the ASB Directives and what does an entity have to do retrospectively if the entity has not complied with these ASB Directives? If such Heritage Assets cannot be measured reliably, what must an entity do?

- Interpretations of the Standards of GRAP (iGRAP’s). The ASB has issued various applicable iGRAP’s. What are their practical implications?

Discussion on the prescribed course material, the IPSAS / GRAP Implementation Manual (IGIM):

The IGIM is a manual of approximately 1 100 pages that includes the following:

The IPSAS / GRAP Accounting Reporting Frameworks applicable for 2015/16 and future years;

An overview of the approved and effective Standards of GRAP and other relevant accounting standards (e.g. iGRAPs, IPSAS, IFRS/ IAS/ etc);

Prescribed accounting treatment for public sector entities applying GRAP for the financial year ending for 2015/16 and proposed steps for implementation to assist compliance with the Accounting Framework;

4

The following for each of IPSAS and the Standards of GRAP:

i. A detailed description of the accounting treatment and disclosure requirements of all the accounting standards which are relevant to the public sector.

ii. A detailed description of the operating procedures that need to be implemented by public sector entities in order to adhere to the requirements of the accounting standards. These procedures include guidance and examples on the conversion process from the cash/ modified cash accounting frameworks to the IPSAS / GRAP accounting frameworks.

These procedures also include practical examples and templates explaining to staff how to execute procedures that will lead to IPSAS / GRAP compliant Annual Financial Statements for example memorandums to be sent to all departments/ divisions requesting transaction/ contract/ operational related information from them which normally does not otherwise come to the attention of the Finance/ Budget & Treasury department, but which needs to be accounted for in terms of GRAP, e.g. performance related reports on the performance of departmental assets, human resource related information, contracts entered into close to year-end etc.

iii. The identification of officials who are responsible for the execution of the accounting procedures.

iv. The identification of target dates for the execution of the procedures.

Target Participants:

Both financial and non-financial officials from public sector entities that apply IPSAS or GRAP (South

African specific), e.g. Municipal Managers, Chief Financial Officers, Departmental/ Division Managers (e.g.

Assets, Revenue, Expenditure etc.), officials from other Departments than the Finance Department and

any officials involved in IPSAS / GRAP compliant Annual Financial Statements (AFS) compilation or

processing of information included in the AFS. Officials in the employ of the National Treasury as well as

the various Provincial Treasuries who advise and guide public sector entities in the application of IPSAS /

GRAP will also immensely benefit from this seminar.

Course duration:

The duration of the IPSAS / GRAP Implementation Course is 15 days of class contact, excluding the time

spent by participants completing the individual take home assignments, discussed in more detail below.

The above-mentioned 15 days will be split into 3 separate class contact weeks, each consisting of 5 days,

thus giving 15 days in total.

5

Course objective, topics and outcomes:

Given the above context, the overarching course objective is to equip participants with technical and

practical implementation knowledge about the updated IPSAS / Standards of GRAP.

The following outcomes are to be achieved by the course:

Outcome 1: The ability to describe and apply the IPSAS / GRAP accounting reporting framework

applicable in the period 2015/2016.

Outcome 2: The ability to describe and apply in practice, the accounting treatment and disclosure

requirements of the IPSAS / Standards of GRAP, read along with the Interpretations of Standards of

GRAP (iGRAPS), where relevant, and practical guidance on HOW TO implement the standards.

Outcome 3: The ability to explain the latest approved and effective IPSAS and GRAP Standards

relevant for 2015/16 and future years.

Outcome 4: The ability to deal in practice with implementation challenges for 2015/16 and onwards

and practical proposals on addressing these challenges (including proposals to address issues that

have remained problematic over the years for public sector entities which use IPSAS or GRAP).

Outcome 5: Knowledge of answers to frequently asked questions on IPSAS or the standards of GRAP,

where relevant.

Assessment and credits:

After attending this course, participants should be able to fulfil the following assessment criteria through

the indicated methods of assessment:

Assessment criteria:

Each participant must, through the assessments, provide proof that he / she has acquired a satisfactory

level of knowledge on IPSAS and the Standards of GRAP and that he / she has mastered the practical

applications of IPSAS and the Standards of GRAP to the extent that it can be applied in the work place.

Assessment method:

Participants will be individually assessed by means of the following method:

1. Two individual take home assignments on specific IPSAS / GRAP implementation topics, as

determined by the seminar presenter. One assignment will be given to the participants at the end

of each contact week, dealing with the content covered in that week, which needs to be

individually completed by each participant at home and handed in electronically/ submitted on-

line before the closing date for each specific assignment, as determined by the seminar presenter

(2 separate assignments, each contributing 33.33 percent of the final mark).

2. One case-study-based open book individual written assessment (examination) during the last

contact session, contributing 33.33 percent of the final mark.

6

In order to achieve success in this programme, participants must obtain the following minimum

percentage marks:

A minimum of 40% for each of the two individual take home assignments and the

examination and an average of 50% for all three together.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY POTENTIAL RE-EXAMINATION (SUPPLEMENTARY OPPORTUNITY)

CONSIDERATIONS FOR UNSUCCESSFUL PARTICIPANTS WILL ENTIRELY BE ON THE DISCRETION OF THE

COURSE PRESENTER AND IF ALLOWED, WILL BE COMMUNICATED AND ARRANGED SEPARATELY FROM

ANY ARRANGEMENTS AS PER THIS COURSE BROCHURE. ANY ADDITIONAL FEES PAYABLE FOR SUCH A

POTENTIAL RE-EXAMINATION IS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS COURSE’S COSTS. NO PARTICPANTS ARE

GUARANTEED A RE-EXAMINATION OPPORTUNITY, THEREFORE IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT PARTICIPANTS

ATTEMPT TO PASS SUCCESSFULLY ON FIRST ATTEMPT.

Certificate upon completion:

After completion of this course a University certificate of competence will be issued to all successful

students.

Daily Programme of Activities (similar format for each of the 15

seminar days):

Times Days 1 – 15

08:30 to 09:00 Initial registration (day 1) or administrative related queries/ assistance (days 2 -15), tea &coffee

08:30 to 10:30 1. Understanding the IPSAS / GRAP accounting reporting framework applicable in the period 2015/2016.

2. A detailed discussion of the accounting treatment and disclosure requirements of IPSAS and the Standards of GRAP, read along with the Interpretations of Standards of GRAP (iGRAPS), where relevant, and practical guidance on HOW TO implement the standards.

3. A focus on the latest approved and effective IPSAS and GRAP Standards relevant for 2015/16 and future years.

4. Implementation challenges for 2015/16 and onwards and practical proposals on addressing these challenges (including proposals to address issues that have remained problematic over the years for public sector entities that have applied IPSAS or GRAP).

5. Frequently asked questions on IPSAS and the standards of GRAP, where relevant.

Please note: Items 1 to 5 overlap continuously thus are presented concurrently (elements of outcomes are addressed, as and when relevant)

Break

10:45 to 12:30 Items 1 to 5 continued

Lunch

13:30 to 16:15 Items 1 to 5 continued

16:15 to 16:30 Conclusion and reflection

7

Course leaders: Mr George Ducharme & Prof Johan Burger

Course facilitators: GE Ducharme; A Slabbert; R Maritz

References:

Prescribed literature

Ducharme, GE et al. 2015. IPSAS/GRAP Implementation Manual 2015/2016 Reporting Framework

Edition. Stellenbosch: Ducharme Consulting.

Recommended additional sources

Accounting Standards Board (ASB). Standards of GRAP. http://www.asb.co.za (23-November-2015).

Accounting Standards Board (ASB). Interpretations of the Standards of GRAP.http://www.asb.co.za (23-November-2015).

Accounting Standards Board (ASB). ASB Directives 1 to 11. http://www.asb.co.za (23-November-2015).

National Treasury of South Africa (NT).Various circulars and directives issued on GRAP. http://www.treasury.gov.za (23-November-2015).

Koppeschaar, Z et al. 2014. Descriptive Accounting. IFRS Focus. 19th Edition. Butterworths.

In partnership with Ducharme

Registration form

Course & Venue Mark applicable session with ‘X’

University of Stellenbosch’ School of Public Leadership

IPSAS / GRAP

Implementation (2015/16)

36-credit HEQF (2007) level 8 course: 120-hours contact

Durban

KwaZulu-Natal

7 - 11 March 2016

4 – 8 April 2016

9 – 13 May 2016

East London

Eastern Cape

14 – 18 March 2016

11 – 15 April 2016

16 – 20 May 2016

Pretoria; Gauteng:

Group A

14 – 18 March 2016

11 – 15 April 2016

16 – 20 May 2016

Pretoria; Gauteng:

Group B

18 – 22 April 2016

9 – 12 May 2016

30 May – 3 June 2016

REGISTRATION PROCESS: Submit fully complete registration form to Alriette Swart via:

e-mail: aswart@ducharmeconsulting.co.za | Tel: 021-885 2073/ 073 936 8628 | Fax: 086 591 8587.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION The following should be submitted together with the completed registration form:

A copy of the order issued by the payee should also be attached.

A copy of third-year level accounting qualification (e.g. B.Com or equivalent degree or national diploma / current

HQEF level 7 / previous NQF level 6) OR details of 3-5 years applicable accounting experience in consideration of

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Attendee details Title Full name

Surname ID Nr

Tel (h) Fax (h)

Cell E-mail

Employer / Organisation

Department Job Title

Tel (w) Fax (w)

E-mail

SIGNATURE as acceptance of terms

& conditions

Dietary Requirements: (Please specify so that the necessary arrangements can be made):

Terms & Conditions Cost:

Cost includes:

Entry pre-requisites: Registration:

Payment:

Cancellation: Course confirmation:

Substitution:

Course enquiries:

R33 500 VAT inclusive, per participant to be paid for the 15-day course.

Course material

Training venue attendance, lunches and refreshments

A certificate of competence or attendance

Minimum requirements include either a third-year level accounting qualification (e.g. B.Com or equivalent degree or national

diploma / current HQEF level 7 / previous NQF level 6) OR 3-5 years applicable accounting experience in consideration of

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

Registration is confirmed upon receipt of the completed application form. By submitting an application form, you agree to abide by

these terms and conditions. The closing date for applications and registration is ten business (10) days prior to commencement of

the applicable course. We reserve the right to deny an application submitted for registration. A copy of the purchase order needs to

be submitted as part of the registration, with the applicable order number to be indicated on the registration form.

During the first week of class an invoice will be provided to the delegates. All outstanding fees should be settled within 30 days of

the start of the course, after which interest may be charged on such outstanding amounts and may result in access to the training

to be denied. Full settlement of fees is required as part of course completion and no results nor certificates (where applicable) will

be issued where such amounts are outstanding.

Should you be unable to attend, we will accept your written cancellation by no later than seven (7) working days prior to the start of

the course. In such case, the applicable invoice will be credited and no recovery of such fees will be instituted. Where fees have

already been paid and a written cancellation within the aforementioned time frame has been received, we will refund all fees paid.

Where no written cancellation was received within seven (7) days prior to the start of the course, we regret that we are unable to

refund any fees. This clause will also apply where we have received your application form, and are awaiting your payment. In such

case, we reserve the right to recover the outstanding amount for the attendance.

Within five (5) days prior to the proposed commencement of the course, we will confirm your registration and as well as

continuance of the presentation of the course, contingent upon receiving the minimum amount of registrations to run the course.

We reserve the right to postpone or cancel the event or change the venue. Course fees will be reimbursed in the event of a course

being cancelled or postponed.

We would be happy to welcome a colleague who would substitute your attendance, which should please be confirmed in writing.

For Course content enquiries, contact Daniel Erasmus (derasmus@ducharmeconsulting.co.za / 0722 58 1245)

For Course Registration enquiries, contact Alriette Swart (aswart@ducharmeconsulting.co.za / 073 936 8628)

For other enquiries, please contact Hanlie Coetzee (hcoetzee@sun.ac.za / 021 918 4130)

Payee details (Information of person/organisation to be invoiced) Person or Organisation

(latter if paid by employer)

Contact person Tel (w) Fax (w)

Department Job Title Order nr

E-mail Cell

Postal Address

(to which invoice must be sent)

PostCode

VAT number of organisation

Payment method

By Bank Transfer:

Account name: University of Stellenbosch Bank: ABSA Bank

Account nr: 40 5135 1458 Branch Code: 63 20 05

Please fax the transfer or deposit slip to (021) 918 4123, using your invoice number as reference.