In a joint submission CA ANZ and CPA Australia have provided overall support for the first of three Exposure Drafts (ED 1) to develop International Non-Profit Accounting Guidance (INPAG). Developed by the International Financial Reporting for Non-Profit Organisations (IFR4NPO) project, it responds to a globally recognised need for comprehensive, consistent, and appropriate reporting requirements for this sector.

ED 1 focuses on creating an overarching framework including primary users and their needs, reporting boundary, the conceptual framework, and financial statement content (primary statements and their titles, including narrative and performance reporting). It will be followed by ED 2 expected mid-2023 which will focus mainly on recognition and measurement, and ED 3 in late 2023 which will focus mainly on presentation. Final guidance is due for release in mid-2025. 

The submission supports the use of IFRS for SMEs as a basis for INPAG and, only where necessary, departing from it. However, we recommend more consideration is given to the scope of INPAG, especially the target NFP population, and the users of NPO financial statements are not sufficiently clear. We have also recommended that the guidance be given the authoritative status of a standard.