The Conformity of the Hungarian Public Sector Accounting Regulation with the EPSAS Conceptual Framework

The EPSAS Conceptual Framework 2018 is a useful summary of the main goals and key issues in public sector accounting, since collects all the relevant topics at a general level. Similar to the IPSAS, these standards are also not binding yet, but it is necessary for the EU member states to prepare for the application as soon as possible. The first step is to realise the conformity of the current national system with the standards. In Hungary, the public accounting reform – besides the public financial changes (2011) – has started at the end of 2013. The Hungarian public sector accounting system generally complies with the EPSAS, therefore it is ready to implement the standards. Only some conceptual and technical changes are necessary to be made in the field of IT, professionals, policy and responsibility. International experience shows that the length of implementation can vary widely (2-3 or more than 3 years), as the scope and implementation of reforms are very different. Although both systems are able to serve the basic requirements of transparency and accountability at a financial and social level, but for uniformity the European standards are necessary. Obviously, the subtle details require a lot of attention, as the proverb says: God is in the parts