• National Professional Accountancy Organisation: National Board of Accountants and Auditors (NBAA) Tanzania
• World Bank ROSC Accounting and Auditing Report

Update for May 2010
Update for November 2002

Tanzania prescribes applicability of IFRS for SMEs

Since 2004, all business entities in Tanzania have been required to use IFRSs except for government business entities, which have been required to use International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs). The National Board of Accountants and Auditors of Tanzania has clarified which of those entities are now permitted to use the IFRSs for SMEs, as follows:

• Publicly accountable entities are required to use full IFRSs. These include:
  • entities that offer shares to the public;
  • financial institutions such as banks, insurance, pension funds, mutual funds, securities brokers/dealers;
  • entities that have essential public responsibility or provide essential public service such as utilities; and
  • all entities including government business entities with 100 or more employees or with capital investment in non-current assets above TShs.800,000,000 (approximately US$600,000).
• Non-publicly accountable entities are permitted to use the IFRS for SMEs. These include private business entities and government business entities with less than 100 employees and capital investment of less than TShs.800,000,000. Such entities may, alternatively, use full IFRSs.
• Public sector entities may use IPSASs provided that they do not qualify as publicly accountable (see above).

Tanzania requires IFRSs starting in 2004 for listed and non-listed international companies

Effective from 1 July, 2004, the National Board of Accountants and Auditors adopted the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and International Accounting Standards, issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and International Standards of Auditing (ISAs), issued by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), as Tanzanian standards.

At the same time, the Board continued in force the following Tanzania Financial Accounting Standards (TFASs) and Tanzania Statements of Recommended Practice (TSRPs) that do not have counterpart International standards:

Tanzania Financial Accounting Standards (TFASs)

• TFAS No. 12 Director's Report
• TFAS No. 16 Accounting for Extractive Industries
• TFAS No. 23 Accounting for Value Added Tax (VAT)
• TFAS No. 24 Public Sector Accounting

Tanzania Statements of Recommended Practice (TSRPs)

• TSRP 2 Accounting for Non-Governmental Organizations
• TSRP 3 Governance in the Public Sector - An Accounting Officer's Perspective