Welcome to our March Newsletter. The 6-month consultation period for International Non-Profit Accounting Guidance, Exposure Draft 2 (INPAG ED2) closed on 15 March. During that period we have had 37,000 visits to the website, 4,000 views of the explainer videos, 2,700 event registrations, 2,000 downloads of the ED2 summary, 1,300 visits to the ‘Have-your-say’ page and 11 country visits! Thank you to everyone who participated!
A huge thank you to the 140 organisations and individuals from 49 countries who submitted responses to Exposure Draft 2 via comment letter or surveys! At least 6 of the submissions were based on extensive consultation with stakeholders, and the quality of the comments demonstrate deep engagement with the proposals and issues. Your comments, suggestions, examples, and reasons for agreeing or disagreeing are golden for us and the sector. The proposals in Exposure Draft 2 related to technical accounting issues, and this is reflected in the fact that a significant proportion of respondents were from the accounting, auditing and standard setting community.
The survey is still open until 31 March 2024.
The comments are a matter of public record and can be viewed here. We look forward to digesting them in the coming weeks. The analysis and forward actions will be presented in papers to the Technical and Practitioner Advisory Groups for further consideration as we finalise INPAG.
One message that came across from many stakeholders, even with differing views on particular points, was an appreciation for the quality and rigour of the material as a whole. Balancing the sometimes competing priorities of user needs, technical concepts, simplicity, and consistency means there is rarely one right answer. The push and pull of various perspectives, testing different options and seeing how they land is a crucial part of the process.
We were encouraged to read these kind words from Palestine-based Practitioner Advisory Group (PAG) member, Bages Petro as he submitted his own comments.
Hot on the heels of ED2, we are gearing up for the release of International Non-Profit Accounting Guidance, Exposure Draft 3 in May 2024. In many ways this is the summit, building on all the earlier work to address the burning issues of Fund accounting, Classification of expenses (including support costs and fundraising) and Donor/project reporting formats (referred to ‘Supplementary statements’). Watch this space!
INPAG includes guidance about narrative reporting, which is presented alongside the financial statements. This is a key feature of non-profit financial reporting, and essential for providing context and meaning to the numbers.
Having analysed the results from Exposure Draft 1 on this topic, we are keen to consult with a wide range of NPOs, funders, regulators, auditors and other stakeholders on this issue. We will therefore be holding a one-hour focus group to explore our further thinking on:
• The non-disclosure of sensitive information
• Sustainability reporting
• The approach to guidance on the reporting of other information
The focus group discussion will be in English, for 60 minutes on Wednesday 24 April 2024, at 12pm (noon) UTC / GMT. If you would like to request an invitation, please click the link.
We are glad to introduce recently appointed volunteers serving the project as Country Champions to support engagement with a diverse range of stakeholders. We are also excited to welcome a new member to the Technical Advisory Group.
• Marcelo Guaman (Country Champion, Ecuador)
• Donna Deidrick (Country Champion, Jamaica)
• Md. Rafiqul Islam (Deputy Country Champion, Bangladesh)
• Batima Mukina (Country Champion, Kazakhstan)
• Iheanyi Anyahara (Technical Advisory Group member, Nigeria)
Ahead of its 101st Council meeting in Dakar, Senegal, ABWA conducted a technical session entitled “Guidelines on International Financial Reporting for Not-for-Profit-Organisations” aimed at addressing challenges encountered by NPOs in relation to efficiency, resource management, and transparency.
Key insights included the importance of accountability in NPO operations, the need to prevent exploitation for illicit financial activities, and the necessity for NPOs to adopt acceptable reporting frameworks to enhance transparency.
Our thanks go to IFR4NPO Country Champion for Senegal Ms Ndieme Paye Badiane, who facilitated the session along with Dr. Innocent Okwuosa FCA (President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria), and Mr. Victor Tanwone (ABWA President) in attendance.
Technical Advisory Group (TAG): The TAG met on 27 February 2024 for a final review of Exposure Draft 3 before preparation for publishing in May 2024. The papers and recording are available here.
