IPSAS and accounting system in the Italian Public Administrations: expected changes and implementation scenarious

This paper proposes to identify the main features of a possible implementation path of the International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) standards within the Italian local public administration. In perspective, local Public Administrations (PA) may represent the reference target for the introduction of IPSAS standards but a direct application in the short-run can hardly be imagined in the Italian context. According to the CFOs of medium-small Municipalities in the Lazio Region, the IPSAS enforcement strategy swings between the “forced” model and the “spontaneous” model. The application of IPSAS standards to Italian PAs depends on specific law provisions at all institutional levels and requires a process of implementation based on a bottom-up model “governed by the center”. Keywords: accrual accounting, cash accounting, IPSAS, public finance and accounting system reforms