|
Standards and Guidelines
The Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) undertakes projects to develop or revise authoritative standards (CICA PSA Handbook Recommendations) and guidelines.
PSAB follows a rigorous "due process" that gives those affected by the pronouncements an opportunity to express their views while issues are being considered and recommendations developed. Four main steps are followed: project scoping and approval (project proposal), formulation and agreement on basic principles (statement of principles), preparation and issue of an exposure draft for public comment (exposure draft), and approval and issue of the final CICA PSA Handbook Recommendations. Depending on the circumstances, development of guidelines may follow some or all of these steps.
Project development is often assigned to a Task Force but may also be carried out by staff.
Research Studies
From time to time PSAB commissions the CICA's Studies department to conduct research on relevant topics in public sector accounting, reporting and performance measurement.
The objective of a research report is to advance the knowledge of the community on the research topic and encourage debate on the related issues. A research report communicates the conclusions of the study group that conducted the research. When a CICA standard setting board decides to start a project on a topic that has been addressed in one of the CICA's research reports, the conclusions of the report will be used as one source of information that standard setters consider in determining the most appropriate standards on that topic. Other sources of information include the conceptual framework of the Handbook in which the new standards would be housed, analogous international standards, and authoritative literature on the topic, as well as practice and other pragmatic considerations. The conclusions of a research report do not bind the standard setting board that commissioned the research. In fact, each research report or study includes the following disclaimer:
"This research report was commissioned by the CICA as part of its continuing research program. The views and conclusions expressed in this Report are those of the Study Group. They have not been adopted, endorsed, approved, disapproved or otherwise acted upon by a Board, Committee, the governing body or membership of the CICA or any provincial Institute/Ordre." |
