APV was originally appointed by the Government of Vanuatu in late 2015 to -

 

• Review their existing asset registers with a view to capturing the necessary data to eventually enable the Government to identify and value their major assets

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• Develop a whole-of-government asset accounting framework including policies and processes to support the implementation of accrual based financial statements under the IPSAS.

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The Government did however have an broader goal of developing capability and expertise within their own staff.

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Following an initial scoping exercise in December 2015 APV in consultation with the Asset Management and Valuation Unit (AMVU) of the Department of Finance and Treasury (DoFT) developed a strategy aimed primarily at  building the capability of their own staff and equipping them with the right tools to enable the Government of Vanuatu to become self-sufficient with their valuation requirements.

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As a government with limited resources, it was considered imperative that they build their own capability rather than rely in perpetuity on external consultants.

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APV subsequently established a core team of Government of Vanuatu staff and through hands-on training and in-field mentoring combined with the provision of key tools such as Asset Valuer Pro were able to achieve great success. This resulted in the in-house team, over a 15 month period, inspecting assets across the entire country and producing for the first time valuations for the whole-of-government accounts.

 

Based on the  success of the project the Government entered into a new two-year contract in 2019 to further develop their own staff and extend the project across provincial and municipal governments. This new phase also includes the development and implementation of a National Asset Management Framework (NAMF).

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APV believes this project should be used as a prime case study for other countries as they commence their journey down the path of implementation of accrual based accounting standards such as IPSAS and IFRS.