By Panos Mourdoukotas, includes “Before imposing another round of austerity on Greece, Germany should fix its own accounting problem — by calculating Greek debt, and its own, with accepted international standards.
As Greek citizens head to the polls this Sunday, German officials have not missed the chance to remind Greece that it must fulfill its debt obligations. This means adhering to an unprecedented austerity which has depressed the Greek economy. The trouble is that Germany has been overestimating Greece’s debt by failing to follow the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (Ipsas),which measure liabilities and assets over time.
Ipsas standards are similar to those used by leading governments, businesses, banks and investors at all levels, according to Professor Jacob Soll. “In fact, the debt has been calculated to be larger than it actually is, or would be if one used Ipsas,”writes Soll in a recent New York Times op-ed. …”
Read the full article on: Forbes