The Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) is promoting a set of accounting standards that would allow the public - as "stakeholders" of a public entity - to evaluate the financial position and financial performance of the government.

BICA continues to urge the Ministry of Finance to use International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) - a set of accounting standards used by public sector entities around the world in the preparation of financial statements - as a means to encourage fiscal responsibility in government.

The IPSAS are based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which BICA President Darnell Osborne told Guardian Business are used in The Bahamas and internationally for private sector companies.

"These standards are important as they push public sector entities to adopt principles of accounting that have long been adopted by private companies," she said.

"Governments worldwide are being encouraged to see themselves as public entities that have shareholders/stakeholders, and the financial information should be prepared and presented in a manner that enables the stakeholders to evaluate the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of the government," Osborne added. "Ultimately, these standards encourage fiscal responsibility in government."

As a requirement for membership of IFAC - good standing for which was the motivating force behind passage of the BICA Bill 2015 - BICA must support its statement of membership obligations (SMOs). Osborne told Guardian Business that in seeking to comply with SMO 5, BICA has committed to demonstrate best endeavors to promote further awareness of IPSAS with the auditor general and the Ministry of Finance.

"To encourage adoption and implementation, BICA continues to promote the use of IPSAS within the Ministry of Finance and includes IPSAS materials and offerings as part of its program of continuing professional education," she said.

SMO 5 sets out the requirements of IFAC members with respect to IPSAS and other pronouncements by the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board.

Osborne recently returned from the eighth CreCer Annual Conference in Quito, Ecuador. The theme was "Preserving economic gains and investing in the future: Promoting growth through improved financial accountability".

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