|
XXIII
Interamerican Accounting Conference
San Juan, Puerto Rico
August 2-5, 1999
Public
Sector Discussion Group
Conclusions
and Recommendations as Approved in Conference Final Plenary
Session
(translated
from original in Spanish - see below)
General:
1. The
Interamerican Accounting Association (IAA) should communicate
the conclusions and recommendations of its conferences to
the government authorities of the various countries for their
consideration where implementation is appropriate.
2. The
IAA should take a more aggressive role in public accountancy
education working with universities and its member organizations
with financial support from international organizations.
3. Data
bases should be developed by the IAA containing prior conference
papers and other information that would support the preparation
of interamerican papers for future conferences.
Specific:
1. In
order that they might become managerial tools to help face
surrounding change, the development of Integrated Financial
Management Systems (IFMS) and their audit requires training
in science and technology.
2. Those
responsible for IFMS and their audit should report concisely
and clearly to the citizens on the results of their work.
3. The
interamerican countries must have a model for IFMS and audit
that serves as a basis for the development and adaptation
of existing systems in each country and permits the production
of financial and managerial information.
4. It
is vitally important that governments provide their Supreme
Audit Institutions (SAI) with laws that vest them with total
technical, administrative and financial independence permitting
the execution of their plans in accordance with programmed
needs and the application of those penalties derived from
audits. Likewise, there should be no interjection or interference
by branches of government with the organization and functioning
of the SAI.
5. The
SAI, together with the Finance Ministry, should play a protagonistic
role in the training of candidates for office and officials
of municipal governments to take advantage of the improvements
offered by IFMS and government auditing.
6. It
is fundamental that a duly qualified Certified or Chartered
Public Accountant with proven experience in auditing be designated
as head of the SAI.
7. It
is very important that the concept of responsibility for internal
managerial control by the heads of public entities be strengthened.
To that end, the IAA in collaboration with the Latin American
Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) and the
Latin American Federation of Internal Auditors (FLAI), should
develop a conceptual framework for internal managerial control
that might be called "General Framework for Implanting
Controls" (acronym in Spanish MAGICO).
8. So
that we might speak a global language in the XXI Century,
we must update and harmonize our accounting terminology. Therefore
the following terms are recommended for usage:
- 8.1
Auditing (Auditoría), instead of "fiscalization",
"control", "censure of accounts",
etc.
- 8.2
Auditor, instead of "fiscalizador," "censor
de cuentas", "inspector", etc.
- 8.3
Accountability (Respondabilidad), instead of "rendering
of accounts" and similar terms again ratifying the
original recommendation of the IX Interamerican Accounting
Conference.
- 8.4
Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), instead of "Supreme
Control Organism", "Supreme Fiscalization Entity",
etc. (maintaining consistency with the terminology of
INTOSAI, the world organization of SAI's)
- 8.5
Internal Audit Unit, instead of "internal control
organ," "inspectorate," "internal
fiscalizador," "internal controller," etc.
- 8.6
Informatics (Informática), instead of "automatic
data processing," "computerization," etc.
- 8.7
Internal Managerial Control (Control Interno Gerencial)
to clearly set out the chief executive officer or agency
head's responsibility for internal control making it clear
that this is not the responsibility of the internal auditors,
nor the SAI. (It is very important to differentiate between
internal control and internal audit).
9. The
Public Sector Discussion Group agrees with the suggestion
by IFAC in its Invitation to Comment of June, 1999, that the
IFAC Public Sector Committee should:
- 9.1
Issue a single international public sector accounting
standard (IPSAS) dealing with government accounting on
the cash basis.
- 9.2
Issue a series of IPSAS dealing with the accrual basis
of accounting.
- 9.3
Issue guidance and transitional provisions to provide
incentives to help governments fully convert their accounting
systems to the accrual basis, which should be the goal
of every government in the XXI Century.
10. The
discussion group also suggests the need for IFAC to define
and issue principles for determining governmental costs due
to their importance as indicators of the efficiency of the
government.
11. It
is necessary to support planning of policies and actions for
municipal development considering needs based upon citizen
consultation, thus permitting more efficient administrative
and financial tools for the raising of revenues and their
application.
12. Internal
audit should provide advice during the development and installation
of systems for governmental agencies so as to guarantee the
appropriate transfer of technology.
13. The
scope of both internal and external audits of municipalities
needs to be broadened so that all sectors, systems and processes
are evaluated.
|
