Local Authorities

The Board approved an unqualified Statement of Assurance for the 2007 Code of Practice for Local Authority Accounting. This includes details of how authorities should apply the new financial instruments standards. The Board has also approved some changes to the constitution and membership of the CIPFA/LASAAC Joint Committee, which is now to be known as the CIPFA/LASAAC Local Government SORP Board.

The SORP Board is now taking forward work on SORP 2008 with an Exposure Draft and Invitation to Comment (ITC) due to be published for consultation around the end of October. The Introduction to the ITC will explain the SORP Board's decision that the 2008 SORP should continue to be based upon UK GAAP and that consolidation information, appropriate for the sector, should be available for the 2008-09 Whole of Government Accounts, which are to be prepared on an IFRS basis. The SORP Board will then consider further how the sector should move to preparing IFRS based accounts for 2009-10 onwards.

Charities

With the next update of the Charities SORP expected for 2009, the new Charities SORP Committee is taking forward work that may result in an Information Sheet for SORP 2005 that will clarify interpretational issues such as accounting for grants, the allocation of bank interest and other finance costs; and the relevance of the business review. The Information Sheet is not intended to amend SORP 2005 and therefore does not require consultation or ASB endorsement.

Registered Social Landlords

Following a consultation process that included re-exposure of the proposals for shared ownership sales and mixed tenure development, the RSL SORP Working Party has finalised its proposals for a revised SORP. These are to be presented to the ASB in November and, subject to the Board's approval, the SORP Working Party hope to publish a revised SORP around the end of the year. The revised SORP will apply to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2008, with earlier adoption encouraged.

Higher and Further Education

The 2007 SORP, including an unqualified Statement of Assurance, was published by Universities UK in August. The new SORP provides enhanced guidance in areas such as income recognition, fixed assets and retirement benefits as well as providing more sector specific guidance in areas such as accounting for tuition fees, bursaries and research contracts. The 2007 SORP replaces the SORP dated July 2003 and will apply to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 August 2007.