Public accounting reform in Ireland

The Commission is supporting Ireland’s continuous efforts to modernise the State’s financial reporting practices and develop a roadmap for reforms in order to improve the national accounting policies.

Context

The Irish Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is seeking to define a new central government accounting framework, based on OECD recommendations developed in a previous assessment. Defining an action plan of all necessary changes will allow for a more accurate and timely implementation of all the identified improvements to bring the central government financial accounting and reporting in alignment with international standards and good practices.

Support delivered

The Commission facilitated access to tailored expert support, which provided the following support measures:

• Creating a financial reporting reform concept document and a roadmap;
• Consultation with stakeholders on the previous OECD assessment and their suggestions;
• Development of drafts for new accounting standards based on international (IPSAS) and European standards (EPSAS);
• Preparation of a manual for the application of the accounting standards and replacing the existing accounting policies.

Results achieved

Commission’s technical is expected to facilitate the implementation of international and European accounting standards in Ireland and thus, is contributing to more accurate and timely central government financial accounting and reporting.