IPSAS, IFRS, and the quality of the accounting — with an accent on public management

Abstract

Are accounting errors caused by national accounting standards? The goal of this paper is to identify the problems with the quality of accounting information when the new Czech accounting standards are used in the public sector. The aim is then to compare the impact of IPSAS and IFRS on the Czech accounting standards and the accounting error rate of private entities and public sector entities. Data analyzed in this paper were obtained in 2018 and 2019. The results of quantitative research are subjected to statistical testing in order to answer the research questions as well as identify differences between profit and non-profit (public sector) organizations. Results indicate that the impact of Czech GAAP on the occurrence of accounting errors is not statistically significant for either business or public sector entities. In addition, according to respondents, the Czech accounting standards after the public finance accounting reform are not considered to be the usual cause of errors in accounting. Actually, compliance with the updated Czech GAAP improves the quality of the financial statements and avoids errors when preparing financial statements. These findings are in line with several existing papers and thus support the existing idea that IPSAS or IFRS application promotes the quality of accounting. © 2022, Bucharest University of Economic Studies Publishing House. All rights reserved.