You are required to form syndicates of 5 members and submit a syndicate form (see attachment)
to your instructor by 15th October 2020. Your mark will be based on the mark that your syndicate
achieves.
Background
Many countries around the world have undertaken rapid, wide-ranging, and substantial actions
to respond to COVID-19 pandemic. These actions include the stimulus packages injected by
those countries in their economies in order to deal with the social and economic challenges that
both individuals and organizations are facing as the result of COV-19 pandemic. The focus of
those stimulus packages can be grouped into categories such as. 1/ direct government support
(e.g. income support and unemployment benefit), 2/ businesses support (e.g. loan, grant, delay
to tax payment), and 3/ support for finance industries (e.g. lowering interest rate, repurchase
bonds and other issued securities. The above-mentioned governments support to businesses and
citizens has raised some concerns regarding the adequacy of the current government accounting
practices in enabling the transparency, comparability, and comprehensiveness of the accounting
reporting of government organizations, and whether the current government accounting systems
are able to provide accounting information that can help in measuring the impact of these
stimulus packages on both economies and people.
As part of the effort to combat the effect of COV19 Pandemic and its adverse effect on
economy, Qatar took similar steps that are followed by other countries and revealed a generous
stimulus packages in May 2020 worth 75 billion Qatari riyals for the private sector in order to
to help mitigate the economic impact of the COV19 outbreak. This package was accompanied
by re-planning of the government sector financial resources with the intention to rationalize
spending and increase all types of resources needed for combating COV-19. This large spending
will require an appropriate accounting and reporting systems that enable the scrutiny of
government spending and as well as public servants decisions on how to use financial resources.
A special Interest Group (SIG), many of its members are Qatar university graduates, have
expressed their concern about the relevance and adequacy of the accounting basis that is
currently used in Qatar for the government accounting reporting.
Assume that your team is part of that (SIG) and are intending to investigate the relevance and
adequacy of the current government accounting basis used in Qatari government for
government accounting reporting on the effect of the stimulus packages on individuals and
economy. You are required to write a report addressing the issues shown below.
- Describe the main features of the current accounting basis used in Qatari government
accounting. Your answer should include:
a. The strength, and
b. The weaknesses of the current accounting basis. - Based on the opinion you express in 1.b, you are required to either propose an alternative
accounting basis OR provide some advice on how to improve the current accounting basis
used in Qatari Government accounting in order to fill in the reporting gaps identified as
part of these weaknesses. - Show how this alternative accounting basis OR the enhanced accounting basis can help
the government in planning and control of the resources spent in: 1/direct government
support, 2/ businesses support, and 3/ support for finance industries.
General guidelines:
• Your report should include:
(a) Group assessment cover sheet (not included in page limit). This cover sheet
must include your team members’ full names, student ID numbers, and
signature.
(b) A maximum of 6 pages of text covering all of the requirements set out in the
assignment questions (excluding the cover page, contribution page, reference
list, and appendices).
(c) The report is a joint responsibility, and each member is responsible for the
accuracy, presentation, and the standard of writing. If there are problems
within the group which you cannot resolve, please discuss them
IMMEDIATELY with your instructor
(d) The instructor may ask the team members to conduct a peer evaluation if he
feels there has been an unequal contribution from the team members towards
the project. Please see the Peer Evaluation Form for more details.