International financial reporting has long served two constituencies: IFRS Accounting Standards for capital markets, and IPSAS for governments and public bodies. The third pillar of the modern economy a sprawling non-profit sector comprised of countless organisations managing vast financial reserves annually had no dedicated international standard, and many countries around the globe have no standardised non-profit reporting framework at all. That gap closed on 20 October 2025 with the publication of the International Non-Profit Accounting Standard (INPAS).

What INPAS Is, and Where It Came From

INPAS is the product of the International Financial Reporting for Non-Profit Organisations (IFR4NPO) project, launched in 2019 and led jointly by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and Humentum. Development followed full standard-setting due process: a Consultation Paper in January 2021 and three Exposure Drafts between November 2022 and 2024, issued under the working title International Non-Profit Accounting Guidance (INPAG), with the final draft closing for comment in September 2024. The Technical Advisory Group approved the completed standard on 23 July 2025, and INPAS was published on 20 October 2025, and launched in Geneva the following day. Consultation drew input from 358 organisations across 86 countries. Stewardship now rests with the International Non-Profit Reporting Foundation (INPRF), established in October 2025 to maintain and promote the standard  INPRF publishes INPAS, but did not develop it.

Technically, INPAS is a single, standalone, accrual-based standard covering all NPO transactions, built on the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard under licence from the IFRS Foundation and drawing selected concepts notably non-exchange revenue from IPSAS. It is aimed principally at small and medium-sized NPOs, prescribes four primary statements (Income and Expenses, Financial Position, Changes in Net Assets, and Cash Flows), integrates narrative reporting, and is freely downloadable. A two-year transitional provision permits adopting entities to comply initially with the financial statement requirements alone.

The standard exists because its predecessors were built for other users. IFRS is calibrated to investor decision-making: a restricted grant is not a contract with a customer, and donations have no performance obligation. IPSAS handles non-exchange revenue but is designed for the accountability relationship between governments and citizens, not the donor-funded, mission-driven economics of civil society. INPAS addresses the failures that flowed from forcing NPOs into those frameworks: fragmented national practice, donor-by-donor reporting formats (addressed directly by Practice Guide 1 on harmonised grant reporting), inconsistent presentation of restricted versus unrestricted funds, tricky grant income recognition, and a sector-wide trust deficit born of incomparable reporting.

The Three Frameworks Compared

The frameworks do not compete. Each is calibrated to a distinct accountability relationship capital provider, citizen, donor — and their differences in recognition, presentation and terminology flow directly from that calibration.

The similarities are equally deliberate. All three are accrual-based; all share the qualitative characteristics of faithful representation, relevance, comparability, verifiability, timeliness and understandability; all exist to discharge accountability to those who entrust resources to the entity; and all are developed through public consultation and formal due process with global application in view. A practitioner fluent in one framework will find the core disciplines fully transferable  it is the recognition triggers and presentation architecture that change.

Why This Matters in Our Region

The African adoption story is already moving. The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) issued a Technical Advisory confirming that INPAS will be adopted in Kenya, with a detailed adoption roadmap from January 2026. Ethiopia's Accounting and Auditing Board has launched a national roadmap for phased adoption, and active debate is underway in Tanzania, where NPOs are currently required to report under IPSAS a framework never designed for grant-funded, donor-driven entities. For a region in which the non-profit sector is a material channel for development finance, the direction of travel is clear.

For NPOs, funders and the accountancy community in Zimbabwe and across Central Africa, three implications follow. First, international donors are likely to begin referencing INPAS and Practice Guide 1 in particular in grant agreements and due diligence, ahead of any formal national adoption. Second, entities currently straining to fit non-profit realities into IFRS or IPSAS now have a purpose-built alternative to evaluate, with a two-year transitional runway. Third, the standard's arrival creates an immediate demand for technical capacity: gap assessments against current frameworks, first-time adoption planning, fund accounting redesign and donor reporting harmonisation. Organisations that engage early will set the terms of that transition; those that wait will inherit it.

Conclusion

IFRS remains the benchmark for corporate reporting and IPSAS the anchor for public sector accountability. INPAS does not displace either it completes the architecture. As of October 2025, every major class of reporting entity the company, the state and the mission-driven organisation has an international framework calibrated to its own accountability relationships. For NPOs, funders and the professionals who advise them, the question is no longer whether a dedicated standard exists, but how quickly to position for it.

How Baker Tilly Can Help

Baker Tilly Central Africa's Financial Management Services team works across all three frameworks preparing financial statements, delivering IFRS, IPSAS and INPAS training, and issuing technical opinions on complex recognition and measurement questions. For organisations weighing INPAS, we support:

• Gap assessments — diagnostic reviews of current financial statements against INPAS requirements, identifying the recognition, presentation and disclosure gaps that matter.
• First-time adoption planning — transition strategy, opening balance preparation and application of the two-year transitional relief.
• Fund accounting and donor reporting — restructuring restricted and unrestricted fund presentation and implementing Practice Guide 1 harmonised grant reporting.

• Capacity building — board, finance-team and donor-facing training tailored to your funding model and jurisdiction. 

   

To discuss what INPAS means for your organisation contact our Financial Management Services team.

By Ackson Mapfundematsva CA(Z)

Regional Director — Financial Management Services, Baker Tilly Central Africa

References

International Non-Profit Reporting Foundation (2025), International Non-Profit Accounting Standard (INPAS), Implementation Guidance and Practice Guide 1: Harmonised Grant Reporting. Available at: www.inprf.org

INPRF (2025), 'First global accounting standard for non-profits launched', press release, 20 October 2025. Available at: www.inprf.org/news/inpas-is-published-pr

ICAEW (2025), 'Introducing INPAS: a new international accounting standard for the non-profit sector', Charity Community, November 2025. Available at: www.icaew.com

ICPAK (2025), Technical Advisory on the Adoption of the International Non-Profit Accounting Standard (INPAS) in Kenya, 21 October 2025. Available at: www.icpak.com

Humentum (2025), 'Transforming Nonprofit Financial Reporting: IFR4NPO and INPAS'. Available at: humentum.org

PwC Tanzania (2026), 'INPAS: A new era in non-profit financial reporting'. Available at: www.pwc.co.tz

IFRS Foundation, 'Who uses IFRS Accounting Standards?'. Available at: www.ifrs.org

IPSASB, Handbook of International Public Sector Accounting Pronouncements. Available at: www.ipsasb.org