From draft to accounting standard: stakeholders’ views on heritage assets in the IPSASB’s due process

Financial reporting of heritage assets (HA) is a central challenge in the harmonization of public sector accounting. The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) launched its ‘Heritage’ project in the early 2000s, culminating in Exposure Draft (ED) 78 in 2021. This draft proposed including HA within IPSAS 17, ‘Property, Plant, and Equipment’, and ultimately led to the issuance of IPSAS 45, effective in 2025. This article examines stakeholders’ participation in the IPSASB’s due process on HA, focusing on responses to ED 78 and their influence on the development of IPSAS 45. Through content analysis of comment letters, the study investigates whether institutional background shapes engagement and viewpoints, and assesses the extent to which these perspectives were incorporated into the final standard. The analysis highlights persistent tensions between decision-usefulness and stewardship in public sector reporting, and demonstrates how principles-based standard setting mediates diverse stakeholder expectations, with implications for input and throughput legitimacy.