An Assessment Of International Public Sector Accounting Standards Compliance In Ghana’s Local Government Institutions.

Abstract

The study examined International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) compliance at the local government level in Ghana using selected Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies. A descriptive survey design was employed where primary data was gathered. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. Though the analysis found a very high compliance rate with various components of IPSAS in terms of the presentation of financial statements and comparative information, the overall compliance rate was very low at 18.18%. The results observed that the Assemblies complied very often with the minor components of the presentation of financial performance and cash flow; than those of financial position and notes on financial to the account. The Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies were found to comply more with the statement of financial performance, statement of financial position and statement of cash flows than the District Assemblies. Further analysis revealed that implementers' level of education and years of working experience significantly explain their views about the Cash Basis System of reporting in Ghana. It was further estimated that implementers’ perceived usefulness of IPSAS is statistically dependent on the perceived complexity of the standards, perceived operational benefits, perception of the cash basis system and the gender of the implementers. An inverse relationship was observed between the perceived level of IPSAS complexity and the perceived usefulness of IPSAS. The Ministry of Local Government needs to prioritize the presentation of financial statements at the assembly level by insisting on a uniform standard for all as stipulated by the IPSAS standards.