Looking ahead: challenges for the 2018/19 statement of accounts
Stephen Sheen looks at how a suite of new accounting standards will impact preparations for next year’s statements of accounts. As the ink dries on the 2017/18 statement of accounts,[…]
Stephen Sheen
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Stephen Sheen: Prepare for a deep dive into lease accounting
After a decade of deliberation the IFRS 16 lease accounting standard is set to hit local authorities. Stephen Sheen writes the change means a substantial piece of work for finance[…]
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Stephen Sheen: Do we need a statutory override for IFRS 9?
The accounting standard IFRS 9 has prompted much debate. Last week, Peter Worth argued against a statutory override. This week Stephen Sheen makes the case for it. In a previous[…]
Stephen Sheen: IFRS 9 and ‘impairment’ are no April Fool
For those with a sense of humour IFRS 9 is sadly no practical joke. It’s time to prepare for impairment losses… and a game of Jumanji. While we wait expectantly[…]
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Stephen Sheen: Closedown 2017-18 leaves little time to relax
I was planning to write an article about the prognosis for the 2017/18 accounts closedown and accompanying audit issues. However, the sad demise of Mark E. Smith caused me to[…]
Stephen Sheen: Prudential Framework and the budgetary implications of MRP guidance
The government has issued a single consultation paper on the Prudential Framework, proposing changes to two key documents: the statutory guidance provisions for local authority investments and for minimum revenue[…]
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Stephen Sheen: ‘The most complicated accounting standard ever issued’
IFRS 9: “If you meet someone who claims grandly to have read it all and understood it, this is not the sort of person to trust with either your fidget[…]
Stephen Sheen: Troubles with the auditor? Maybe it’s not you.
Auditors issue threats of qualification based on dogmatic demands but often their objections can be managed with a little push-back. Since I stopped being an external auditor five years ago,[…]
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Stephen Sheen: The auditor’s dreaded knock on the door
Auditors might appear to be upping their action against struggling local authorities, but Stephen Sheen argues there’s little incentive to do anything beyond writing to suggest a council puts its financial[…]
Stephen Sheen: Plotting the big audit and accounting events ahead
It’s a busy year in prospect for audit and accounting. Stephen Sheen works through a schedule that includes auditor appointments, the new accelerated closedown, expenditure and funding analysis, highways and[…]
