Case Study in a Malaysian Public Agency on an Asset Management-Moving Towards the Accrual Basis of Accounting

As part of the strategic reform of Malaysian public services under the Government Transformation Program (GTP), accrual accounting is expected to be fully adopted in public sector financial reporting commencing on 1 January 2015, in order to ensure alignment with the global accounting standards. Consequently, in order to access the government effectiveness of moving towards the accrual basis of accounting, this study is to examine the asset management system in a Malaysian public agency; to evaluate the extent of compliance with MPSAS 17, Property, Plant and Equipment (PPE), IPSAS 26, Impairment of Cash-Generating Assets and IPSAS 21, Impairment of Non-Cash Generating Assets. Using qualitative approach, a preliminary study was conducted via interviews and through obtaining documents. The findings include the following: MPSAS17 has not been strictly adhered to and software is used to monitor the assets; however, the disposal of assets is a manual process and is not automated. The study also discussed any weaknesses pertaining to the said asset accounting system, and suggested recommendations for improvement thereon.