Impact of Implementing IPSAS on Public Organizations in Lebanon: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Reform in the public sector organizations starts with reforming the accounting information system. The idea of reform boosted the attempts of certain countries to take steps toward developing the accounting systems in their managements in order to improve their efficiency and to cope with the fast political and economic changes in addition to satisfying the public opinion about getting better services. International organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have realized the importance of improving the efficiency of the public sector to improve development rates in developing countries and to get international grants and loans. Thus, a unified way to communicate among countries was needed. This study investigates the impact and impediments of implementing International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in Lebanon. The researchers adopted the analytical descriptive approach utilizing an empirical study. A questionnaire was constructed and distributed among a sample of Lebanese certified public accountants. The research yielded some important findings mainly that adopting and implementing IPSAS lead to the advancement in the qualitative characteristics of financial statements in public organizations in Lebanon. It also concluded that there are some obstacles in adopting and implementing IPSAS in public organizations in Lebanon.