The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) held a strategic meeting with auditing firm Grand Namibia, which was appointed to guide the corporation's transition from the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) framework.

The engagement focused on outlining a comprehensive roadmap for the transition process, which will enhance the NBC's compliance, transparency, and accountability in line with both national and international financial governance requirements.

During the meeting, both parties discussed critical milestones, including the gap assessment phase, capacity-building initiatives, and the realignment of financial policies and systems to meet IPSAS standards.

The transition will ensure that NBC's financial reporting accurately reflects its public-service mandate and the stewardship of government-allocated resources.

For several years, NBC has been reporting under IFRS, a framework primarily designed for profit-oriented commercial entities. However, the corporation's public-service nature and funding structure have made IFRS increasingly unsuitable, as it does not fully account for the unique dynamics of grant income, public funding, and non-commercial operations.

Transitioning to IPSAS will ease reporting complexities, improve the clarity of financial statements, and provide a more accurate picture of NBC's financial performance and position as a public broadcaster serving national interests.

"Last year or early this year, we had a bid out looking for companies that must assist the NBC to transition from IFRS to IPSAS, and Grand Namibia was the one that came out successful. So we've had a preliminary meeting with them, but today's meeting in particular was very, very important for us because they came to show us the gap analysis in terms of what they have been looking for within NBC because they have been here," said NBC DG Stanley Similo.

Senior Partner at Grand Namibia Auditing Firm, Ronald Beukes, explained that it will take the NBC about three years to transition to the new system.

"We have been contracted by the NBC to assist them in transitioning from the International Financial Reporting Framework; that is the framework that has been used by the NBC to compile the financial statements. Obviously, this framework presented many challenges to the NBC because the IFRS set of standards is basically developed for profit-driven entities. Hence, the decision by the board to transition to a more relevant set of financial standards, which is called the IPSAS standards."

NBC's Chief Financial Officer, Sadia Brendell, said the corporation is looking forward to the implementation of the new international reporting framework.

"We, as NBC, in particular the finance department, are very excited about this transition to IPSAS. You might remember that the annual financial statement and the reports that we've prepared for the existence of the NBC are basically framed around IFRS, and at this point in time, we are transitioning to IPSAS, and the main reason why we do it is because IPSAS has been developed specifically for public entities with non-commercial aims."

With the implementation of the new framework, expectations are that the corporation will obtain an unqualified audit report from the Office of the Auditor General.