Accounting for Collective Services, Individual Services, and Emergency Relief: Reconsideration in Times of a Pandemic

Due to the economic crises derived from the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for emergency relief has regained tremendous relevance within government and public sector accounting. The literature on the topic shows the vital role of accounting—in the case of such disasters—to facilitate dialogue, create mutual understanding and trust between stakeholders, and support both the accountability process and the control of public sector entities’ financial positions. This chapter aims to join the debate around these issues, via a document and content analysis of all comment letters submitted by the various stakeholders to Exposure Draft (ED) 67, “Collective and Individual Services and Emergency Relief.” This ED was published in January 2019 by the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB). The chapter strives to identify possible guidance regarding the accounting treatment of emergency relief. The results suggest that a broader term (such as “disaster”) should be used instead of “emergency relief,” thus expanding its application to other cases not covered by ED 67. They also show the importance of providing a clearer indication of the categories of cost to be included (or excluded), in determining the costs of emergency relief.