Consultancy Services for IPSAS Financial Instrument Standards to UN University

The United Nations University ("UNU") seeks to engage the services of an accounting firm to provide technical assistance to support timely and efficient implementation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) for financial reporting of UNU’s endowment fund investments. The UNU will be implementing IPSAS effective 1 January 2014 with the following expected deliverables:-

1          Finalization of a comprehensive set of IPSAS-compliant accounting policies and guidelines for the UNU’s endowment fund investments;

2          Review of endowment fund investment accounting and reconciliation processes, and recommend strategies for full IPSAS compliance by 1 January 2014.

3.         Determination of IPSAS-compliant opening balances for the various asset classes of the UNU's endowment fund investments and preparation of model financial statements and notes.  Work in this area will include i) developing a working methodology for the determination of opening balances which reflects IPSAS-compliant categorization and valuation, including impairment, ii) mapping of UNSAS-based financial statement lines to their IPSAS counterparts, iii) establishing a timetable for the conversion of balances in time for the preparation of 2014 financial statements, and iv) historical data compilation and preparation of 2013 financial statement comparative. 

4.         Review the information in the monthly accounting statements provided by the investment manager and identify the changes or additional information required in these statements in order to meet IPSAS compliance. Review the asset codification structure and provide recommendations for the creation of IPSAS compliant chart of accounts. Test the data model or "dry-run" for IPSAS compliance.

5.         Provide recommendations and technical assistance on IPSAS-compliant disclosure notes and tables for financial statement preparation.  Work in this phase includes defining the necessary information collection workflows and mapping data from the ERP system to a draft set of notes.

6.         Training of staff in the IPSAS accounting, reconciliation and reporting procedures, and how to incorporate future changes or developments in IPSAS standards.