SORPs in issue or proposed
Statements of Recommended Practice (SORPs) are recommendations on accounting practices for specialised industries or sectors. They supplement accounting standards and other legal and regulatory requirements in the light of the special factors prevailing or transactions undertaken in a particular industry or sector. SORPs are issued not by the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) but by industry or sectoral bodies recognised for the purpose by the ASB.
To secure such recognition, SORP-making bodies are expected to meet criteria laid down by the ASB and to develop their SORP proposals in conformity with the ASB's code of practice, given in the ASB Statement 'SORPs: Policy and Code of Practice'. Click here to download this Statement.
A SORP is required to carry a statement by the ASB confirming, as appropriate, that the SORP does not appear to contain any fundamental points of principle that are unacceptable in the context of current accounting practice or to conflict with an accounting standard or the ASB's plans for future standards. To assist in dealing with proposals for SORPs the ASB has two specialist advisory committees: the Financial Sector and Other Special Industries Committee and the Committee on Accounting for Public-benefit Entities (CAPE).
Review of Public Benefit Entity SORPs
There are currently four public benefit entity SORPs covering charities, housing associations, local authorities and further and higher education. As part of its work, CAPE asked for a review of these SORPs to highlight any inconsistencies between them. The review was carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Click here to download the review.
SORPs Fact Sheet
Further background information on SORPs is available from the fact sheet that is available for download on this web-page. This lists existing SORPs for which the ASB has given its statement. It also lists the proposed SORPs that have been published as exposure drafts for public comment. Click here to download the fact sheet.
