Zim accounting standards on free fall-Chartered accountants President (27-07-07)

f Zimbabwe (ICAZ) says they are finding it difficult to comply with the International Accounting Standards after the government Central Statistical Office (CSO) suspended releasing monthly figures.

“CSO has suspended indefinitely the issuing of statistics, presenting accountants with the dilemma of how to comply with International Accounting Standard 29 which states that in a hyperinflationary economy, financial statements should be issued based on inflation adjusted figures rather than historical cost figures which are misleading in a hyper inflationary environment,” read a statement by ICAZ president, Tawanda Gumbo.

The country’s CSO office has postponed “indefinitely” the release of inflation figures after the May figure touched a record breaking 4500 percent, the highest in the world outside a war situation.

The official figures are, widely disbelieved, with the Zimbabwean dollar continuing to fall against all major currencies on the black market and soaring prices for fuel, postage and telecommunications, transport, medicines, and many basics.

President Robert Mugabe’s government has projected that inflation will slow to between 350 and 400 percent by the end of the year, but economic analysts and the International Monetary Fund predict a continued rise.

Zimbabwe’s inflation is the highest in the world and reflects a deep economic crisis marked by rocketing unemployment and chronic shortages of foreign currency, food and fuel.

Recently, the former United States Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell said no government throughout history had ever survived an economic crisis of the magnitude Zimbabwe was facing, with inflation nearing seven figure digits and the formal economy barely functioning- CAJ News.