PSAB Annual Report 2025-2026

Chair Message

This past year we continued to follow our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, focusing on meeting the demands of the present while anticipating the needs of the future.
We approved the new employee benefits standard after carefully reviewing the extensive feedback received to the Re-exposure Draft, “Employee Benefits, Proposed Section PS 3251,” and we continued work on our Government Not-for-Profit (GNFP) Strategy, focusing on accounting for contributions and the reporting model for GNFP organizations.

We also continued work on our Intangible Assets project by reviewing feedback received to the Exposure Draft. As outlined in our International Strategy, this project used the principles of International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) 31, Intangible Assets. And, as promised in our Strategic Plan, we are considering the needs of the future in the second step: developing a guideline on Cloud Computing Arrangements – an issue interested and affected parties raised as important to the scope of Public Sector Accounting Standards.

In 2025, we continued to implement the International Strategy by sharing Canadian perspectives with respect to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board’s (IPSASB) work with the Chair, the Canadian member, and the staff of IPSASB. The Technical Advisory Group continued its work, offering PSAB valuable advice with its responses to IPSASB consultation documents.

We also met with our Indigenous Advisory Group. PSAB benefited from the Group’s advice and insight with respect to the standard-setting process as it relates to Indigenous governments and communities.

Finally, 2025 saw a significant milestone reached with respect to how sustainability standard-setting for the public sector would be addressed in Canada. The Reporting and Assurance Oversight Council supported the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board’s (CSSB) and our recommendation that sustainability standard-setting for the public sector should be led by the CSSB, with PSAB playing a supporting role. The IPSASB also released its Sustainability Reporting Standards Exposure Draft 1, “Climate-related Disclosures.” In this context, PSAB will continue to collaborate with the CSSB, IPSASB, and interested and affected parties to ensure the continued relevance of sustainability standards for the Canadian public sector.

In closing, I want to mention that this report will be my last as PSAB Chair. It has been an honour to serve in this role, and I continue to offer my deepest thanks to staff, volunteers, and contributors for all their efforts to support our standard-setting processes. It is a true testament to their dedication and belief in the importance of our mission to serve in the public interest. Thanks to them, we have been able to accomplish a lot this past year and during my term as Chair.

I welcome Andrew Newman to the role of PSAB Chair, effective April 1, 2026. In addition to overseeing the Board’s work for the final year of its existing strategic plan, Andrew will be developing a new strategic plan to serve as a backdrop for his time as Chair. It will represent a great opportunity for interested and affected parties to engage in a dialogue with the Board on the direction of its standard-setting activities over the next five years.

Clyde MacLellan, FCPA, FCA
Chair, PSAB

Strategies

International Strategy

As part of our International Strategy, we continued to strengthen our briefing meetings with the Canadian IPSASB member by providing insights into issues important to the Canadian public sector. We obtained Canadian perspectives to inform PSAB’s response to the IPSASB’s Work Program Consultation. The Technical Advisory Group and the Indigenous Advisory Group provided feedback, and we launched a survey on the Connect.FRASCanada.ca platform to gather input from interested and affected parties in Canada. We also updated the on-demand workshop to continue promoting IPSAS education in Canada.

Indigenous Engagement Strategy

The Indigenous Advisory Group provides PSAB with critical Indigenous insights, perspectives, and advice on financial and other reporting matters. The Group supports the Board’s commitment to enhancing engagement with Indigenous governments, organizations, and communities – a key strategic objective in our 2022-2027 Strategic Plan.

In 2025, the Indigenous Advisory Group provided critical feedback on PSAB’s various public sector accounting projects, including Intangible Assets, Impairment of Assets Held for Service Potential, and Accounting Changes. The Group also weighed in on PSAB’s draft 2028-2033 Strategic Plan and PSAB’s response to the IPSASB’s Work Program Consultation.

The Indigenous Advisory Group offered perspectives, critical insights, and advice on the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s Exposure Draft “CSSA 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements,” and the CSSB’s “Canadian Consultation: International Applicability of the SASB Standards.”

Finally, the Indigenous Advisory Group provided insights into various financial reporting challenges Indigenous organizations face when applying our standards. PSAB is currently reviewing these challenges through technical research and consultations through Group members’ networks.