Evaluation of Financial Reporting “Fair Presentation†Conceptual Objective of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) in Africa

General purpose financial statements issued in compliance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) are determinative and useful for decision making by all stakeholders. This scientific study purpose is to evaluate the financial reporting conceptual objective of IPSAS ‘fair presentation’ in Africa. The study methodology adopted is mixed research methodology, through questionnaires and interviews on PAFA accountants in public sector practice across Africa. The findings revealed that the IPSAS financial reporting conceptual objective of ‘fair presentation’ is attainable with consistent application of professional judgments, taking into accounting the requisite accounting principles. Fair presentation is technically compounded for the average professional to apply, and requiring a lot of additional guidance over a prolonged period of time for the preparer of the financial reports to comply with all IPSASs in the process of complying with the conceptual qualitative characteristics of relevance and reliability.