The Application of the IPSAS in Spain

Governmental accounting was adapted to IPSAS in Spain in 2010, following the reform in the business accounting system to adapt it to IFRS. However, the budget maintains the modified cash criteria and there is an integrated system that includes financial and budgeting accounting. This chapter analyses the normative process and the main challenges and benefits that the new system has had at the three levels of government: central, regional, and local. In order to understand the experience of practitioners, a survey for accountants and financial directors has been carried out at each government level. The results show that budgetary reporting is considered still more useful than accrual financial statements, due fundamentally to the role that the laws give to this information.