Company Financial Reporting: A Guide for Local Authorities

The presentation and format of a company’s financial statements are different from those of a local authority.

Companies produce reports based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) written for them by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) or FRS 102 which is a single standard based on the IFRS for small-to-medium enterprise issued by the UK Financial Reporting Council.

These standards are interpreted by CIPFA for use in local government. Inevitably, there are differences between the original accounting standards and CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting.

This publication gives a clear explanation of the accounting standards and highlights key differences to the Code when reporting for trading companies.

Companies in the UK are governed by the Companies Act. This guidance provides a practical understanding of the Act so that local authorities can check their companies comply with legislation and operate within the correct legal framework.

This title will be useful to anyone in the public sector who is unfamiliar with the requirements, standards and preparation of private sector accounts but equally to accountants who have just joined the public sector and are not familiar with CIPFA’s Code of Practice.

This guide is available as a downloadable PDF. Customers and subscribers will need to login to CIPFA’s website to access the publication.