Public Finances (Accounting Standards) (Jersey) Order 201-: Law Drafting: Proposals

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A decision made 29 October 2012:

Decision Reference: MD-TR-2012-0095
Decision Summary Title:	Accounting Standards: Proposals for Law Drafting – Public Finances (Accounting Standards) (Jersey) Order 201-		Date of Decision Summary:	19th October 2012
Decision Summary Author:	Head of Financial Management, Accounting and Reporting		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title:	Accounting Standards: Proposals for Law Drafting – Public Finances (Accounting Standards) (Jersey) Order 201-		Date of Written Report:	19th October 2012
Written Report Author:	Manager – Financial Accounting and Control		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Accounting Standards: Proposals for Law Drafting – Public Finances (Accounting Standards) (Jersey) Order 201-
Decision(s): The Minister approved the report and authorised the Head of Financial Management, Accounting and Reporting to instruct the Law Draftsman on the preparation of the Public Finances (Accounting Standards) (Jersey) Order 201-.
Reason(s) for Decision: To ensure that the Accounting Standards used in the preparation of the States of Jersey Financial Report and Accounts 2012 remain up-to-date and relevant to the public sector in Jersey.
Resource Implications: None.
Action required: The Head of Financial Management, Accounting and Reporting to instruct the Law Draftsman.
Signature:		Position: Senator P F C Ozouf, Minister for Treasury and Resources
Date Signed:		Date of Decision:

Public Finances (Accounting Standards) (Jersey) Order 201-: Law Drafting: Proposals

Treasury and Resources

Ministerial Decision Report

Accounting Standards: Proposals for Law Drafting – Public Finances (Accounting Standards) (Jersey) Order 201-

Purpose of Report

The purpose of this report is to obtain the permission of the Treasury and Resources Minister to agree to the following amendments to the Public Finances (Accounting Standards) (Jersey) Order.

Background

The Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 states that the annual financial statements of the States must be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice and accounting standards prescribed by an Order made by the Minister.

In Ministerial Decision MD-TR-2012-0020, the Minister recognised that accounting standards are not fixed, that they evolve over time. The Minister’s policy is to update the accounting standards adopted by the States on an annual basis, following those standards adopted by the UK Government in their annually updated Financial Reporting Manual.

The Minister has, for 2010 and 2011, adopted the standards implemented by the UK central government with a two year delay in the form of the Jersey Financial Reporting Manual (JFReM). The Minister notes that in 2010 the UK moved to reporting under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and has decided to adopt IFRS on the same two year delay principle. However, the Minister intends to use this change as an opportunity to reduce the delay in adoption of standards to a single year. Therefore it is the Minister’s policy that the Jersey FReM for 2012 will adopt IFRS in line with the UK FReM for the year ending March 2011.

Comments

The Jersey Financial Reporting Manual has been redrafted based on the UK FReM for the year ending March 2011, adapted as appropriate for the public sector in Jersey. This version of the JFReM should be incorporated into the Ministerial Order in force for the 2012 Financial Report and Accounts.

Recommendation

The Minister for Treasury and Resources is recommended to approve the Head of Financial Management, Accounting and Reporting to instruct the Law Draftsman to prepare the Public Finances (Accounting Standards) (Jersey) Order 201-.

Report author : Manager – Financial Accounting and Control	Document date : 19th October 2012
Quality Assurance / Review : Head of Financial Management, Accounting and Reporting	File name and path: l:\treasury\sections\corporate finance\ministerial decisions\dss, wrs and sds\2012-0095 - accounting standards proposals for law drafting - kh\wr - accounting standards proposals for law drafting - kh.docx
MD Sponsor : Treasurer of the States