Outcome of the conference Task Force "EPSAS Governance" 2 October 2013 – Ampere, BECH building Directorate D: Government Finance Statistics (GFS) Unit D.4: GFS Quality Management and Government Accounting

Conference "Towards implementing European Public Sector Accounting Standards" Brussels, 29-30 May 2013 More than 200 participants (MoF, CoA, NSI, private accountants, academics, …) 4 sessions (one day and a half) Political support by President Van Rompuy, Commissioner Šemeta, W. Radermacher, European Parliament, President Vítor Caldeira from ECA Wide range of speakers (EP, ECA, ECB, EUROSAI, IFAC, IMF, IPSASB, FEE, MoF, DG BUDG, DG MARKT, DG ECFIN, academics)

Conclusions of the conference Political support is growing EPSAS is a necessary tool for further fiscal and budgetary integration in EU Ambitious project with medium-term scope Next step should be a Commission communication, followed by a Framework regulation -> Governance is a first issue to follow-up after the conference.

Overview of the EPSAS project 3 stages: Stage 1 (mid-2013–mid-2014): Commission Communication Stage 2 (mid-2014 – end-2015): Framework Regulation:-> Governance structures and procedures Mid-term Work Programme Stage 3 (end-2015 – 2020): EPSAS endorsement and stepwise implementation

Overview of the EPSAS project

Commission communication - timetable TF EPSAS Governance 1st meeting 2 Oct 2013 Draft communication Public consultation on EPSAS governance – results by March 2014 TF EPSAS Standards Jan 2014 Inter-service consultation and adoption by the College WG EPSAS March 2014 Study on implementation costs in MS Impact assessment QIII 2013 QIV 2013 QI 2014 QII 2014

Issues to be addressed in the Commission communication - Governance - Task force and public consultation - Costs - Use sample of MS to assess costs - Substance of standards - Analyse difficulties with some IPSAS - Flexibility - Burden for small public sector entities - Resources

Issues to be addressed in the Framework Regulation - Establish the principles (accrual, double entry,…) - Confirm the reference to IPSAS as starting point - Define the governance arrangements - Lay down the process of adoption of individual EPSAS standards

EPSAS endorsement and stepwise implementation - Adopt the necessary legislative acts in order to implement EPSAS standards - Gradual, possibly phased, to be achieved in all Member States in the medium-term (by 2020) Strong EU governance - Once the Framework Regulation is in place: EPSAS project EPSAS standard setting process

Luca Pacioli, attributed to Jacopo de' Barbari, around 1496 - Wikipedia In 1494 described double-entry accounting in Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita