The main challenges of Public Sector Accounting reforms and World Bank's Public Sector Accounting and Reporting (PULSAR) Program

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitri Gourfinkel
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
World Bank ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reform Implementation ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Multiple Challenges ◽  
High Level

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to contribute to a dialogue between practitioners and academics. The article discusses the relevance of Public Sector Accounting (PSA) reforms, including their key approaches and challenges, and the role of the World Bank's Public Sector Accounting and Reporting (PULSAR) Program.Design/methodology/approachThis is a practitioner's viewpoint, which reflects World Bank and PULSAR Program's publicly available documents and the opinions of a practitioner involved in the implementation of PSA reforms.FindingsImplementation of PSA reforms, based on the good international standards and practices, such as International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), represents an opportunity for governments to significantly improve (1) the quality, reliability and comparability of their financial information; (2) decision-making process of the high-level public officials; and (3) the overall levels of fiscal transparency and public sector accountability and performance. There are several main approaches of the PSA reform implementation that could be observed across the globe. In practice, many countries and different jurisdictions face multiple challenges associated with PSA reform implementation. The World Bank and PULSAR Program in particular represent a valuable source of knowledge generation and sharing, and also acts as a catalyst for promoting PSA reforms in beneficiary countries.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of this article (which are also its strength in terms of fitness for purpose) are that as a practitioner's viewpoint, it provides a brief overview and personal judgements rather than an empirical analysis of developments applying a theoretical framework.Social implicationsA practitioner's engagement with academic supports increased understanding of the respective views leading to better outcomes for practitioners and academics working in the area of public sector accounting.Originality/valueThe article provides a practitioner's input on the relevance of PSA reforms and their key challenges.

scholarly journals Bureaucracy and Corruption in Public Sector Accounting

10.26458/1412 ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Luminiţa IONESCU ◽  
Florentin CALOIAN
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Global Risk ◽  
Structural Unemployment ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
High Level ◽  
Geopolitical Risks

Bureaucracy and corruption represent major causes of fiscal crises, and structural unemployment all over the world. According to WEF 2014 Global Risk Report, the bureaucracy has a high level in European countries and appreciation is growing that high historical rates of economic progress, especially those experienced by emerging markets, may not be sustainable in the future.  Corruption is growing in a changing global environment and is considered one of the most important geopolitical risks. Most of the time, corruption is associated with fraud and money laundering. European growing cities and public administration have a strong influence over bureaucracy in public sector accounting and more time to process the accounting and fiscal information. 

scholarly journals Assessing the impact of libraries – the role of ISO 16439

2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 87-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Creaser
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Standard ◽  
The World ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Library Impact ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Library impact and how to evaluate it has been debated for a number of years. While the activity – the busy-ness – of the library is now routinely measured and described, the difference the library makes is less tangible and harder to measure. Libraries in all sectors and worldwide are grappling with this issue, and the purpose of this paper is to summarise international standards available to support them. Design/methodology/approach The first international standard concerning library impact, ISO 16439 Information and documentation – methods and procedures for assessing the impact of libraries, was published in 2014 after several years in development. Findings The standard describes a range of methods for assessing library impact which have been used across the world in a variety of libraries in all sectors. Originality/value This paper summarises the key methods described in the standard, and gives references for further reading.

A Smarter Fight Against Corruption

Contexts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-65
Author(s):  
Marina Zaloznaya ◽  
Freda B. Lynn
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Socially Responsible ◽  
The Public ◽  
The World ◽  
High Level

According to a recent study, in forty-eight countries around the world, more than a quarter of citizens pays bribes in exchange for service. In this article, the authors suggest that a key to a more effective and socially responsible fight against corruption lies in sequencing. Here, they explain how initiatives targeting high-level corruption in government and business must take priority, preceding the reforms of the public sector.

ISO 9001 and the public service: an investigation of the effect of the QMS on the quality of public service organizations

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Armando López-Lemus
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Service Quality ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Services ◽  
The State ◽  
Iso 9001 ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence exerted by a quality management system (QMS) under ISO 9001: 2015 on the quality of public services organizations in Mexico. Design/methodology/approach The methodological design was quantitative, explanatory, observational and transversal, for which a sample of 461 public servants from the state of Guanajuato, Mexico was obtained. To test the hypotheses, a structural equation model (SEM) was developed through the statistical software Amos v.21. For the analysis of the data, software SPSS v.21 was used. Regarding the goodness and adjustment indices of the SEM (χ2 = 720.09, df = 320, CFI = 0.933, TLI = 0.926 and RMSEA = 0.05) which, therefore, proved to be acceptable. Findings According to the results obtained through the SEM model, the QMS under ISO 9001: 2015 is positively and significantly influenced tangible aspects (β1 = 0.79, p < 0.01), reliability (β2 = 0.90, p < 0.01), related to response quality (β3 = 0.93, p < 0.01), guarantees (β4 = 0.91, p < 0.01) and empathy (β5 = 0.88, p < 0.01) of the quality related to public services in Mexico. The study’s key contribution is that it discovered that implementing a QMS in accordance with the ISO 9001: 2015 standard has an impact on the quality of public services, with the most influential quality of response. Similarly, the assurance and dependability of service quality turned out to be important in providing public service quality. Research limitations/implications In this paper, the QMS was only evaluated as a variable that intervenes in the process of obtaining quality in public service under the ISO 9001 standard in its 2015 version. In this regard, the results’ trustworthiness is limited to the extent that the findings may be generalized in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico’s public service. As a result, the scientific community is left primarily focused on service quality to promote new future research. Practical implications The ISO 9001: 2015 standard’s QMS is one of the tools for success in both the commercial and government sectors. However, there are practical limitations, which focus on the time during which managers exercise their vision in the public sector: first, the dynamics that managers play in public policy; second, the length of time they have served in public office; and third, the interest of directors of public institutions to improve the quality of service provided by the government. Other practical consequences concern organizational culture and identity, public servant commitment, senior management or secretaries of government, as well as work and training. Originality/value The findings of this paper are important and valuable because they foster knowledge generation in the public sector through the ISO 9000 quality area. A model that permits the adoption and implementation of a QMS based on the ISO 9001: 2015 standard in public organizations that seek to provide quality in their services offered to the user is also presented to the literature. Similarly, the paper is important because there is currently insufficient research focusing on the variables examined in the context of public service in Mexico.

scholarly journals Accounting and the post-new public management

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ileana Steccolini
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Societal Relevance ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reflect various pathways for public sector accounting and accountability research in a post-new public management (NPM) context. Design/methodology/approach The paper first discusses the relationship between NPM and public sector accounting research. It then explores the possible stimuli that inter-disciplinary accounting scholars may derive from recent public administration studies, public policy and societal trends, highlighting possible ways to extend public sector accounting research and strengthen dialogue with other disciplines. Findings NPM may have represented a golden age, but also a “golden cage,” for the development of public sector accounting research. The paper reflects possible ways out of this golden cage, discussing future avenues for public sector accounting research. In doing so, it highlights the opportunities offered by re-considering the “public” side of accounting research and shifting the attention from the public sector, seen as a context for public sector accounting research, to publicness, as a concept central to such research. Originality/value The paper calls for stronger engagement with contemporary developments in public administration and policy. This could be achieved by looking at how public sector accounting accounts for, but also impacts on, issues of wider societal relevance, such as co-production and hybridization of public services, austerity, crises and wicked problems, the creation and maintenance of public value and democratic participation.

The IMF, its mandate and influence in prevention of financial sector abuse

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 987-1011
Author(s):  
Norman Mugarura
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Financial Sector ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Secondary Data Sources ◽  
Work Done ◽  
The Imf

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to articulate the mandate of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) not least in promoting a sound legal regulatory environment for markets to operate globally and its inherent challenges. While acknowledging the plausible work done by the IMF in supporting countries to achieve their macro-economic stability, the paper articulates some of its shortcomings as a global institution. It is evident that the post-war climate in which the World Bank and IMF were created has drastically changed – which presupposes that these institutions now need to reposition themselves to reflect on contemporary global challenges accordingly. The author has argued in the past that a robust regulatory system should be devised taking into account the dynamic challenges in the market environment but also to prevent them from happening again. Design/methodology/approach The paper has utilized empirical evidence to evaluate the mandate of the IMF in addressing its dynamic challenges such as the global financial and debt crises in Europe and the USA and prevention of financial sector abuse globally. The IMF is one of the Bretton Woods Institutions charged with the oversight responsibility to enforce policies and enable countries to manage their macro-economic challenges efficiently. Findings The findings demonstrate that the IMF is as relevant and important as it was when it was created in 1945. However, there is a need for intrinsic and structural changes within this institution to continue discharging its mandate in a changed global regulatory landscape. The IMF is still crucial in fostering a fundamental stabilization function to fragile global economies in areas of financial and technical assistance, and developing requisite legal and supervisory infrastructure within fledging member countries. Research limitations/implications The paper was written by analysis of both theoretical and empirical data largely based on secondary data sources. It would have been better to first present the findings in an international conference to solicit wide views and internalize them accordingly. Practical implications While acknowledging the plausible work done by the IMF and its counterpart the World Bank in facilitating global financial markets regulation and prevention of financial sector abuse, as oversight institutions, they need to constantly review their mandate to respond robustly to their dynamic challenges such as the global and debt crises and financial sector abuse. Oversight institutions need to constantly review and adapt their mandate accordingly, if they are to discharge their varied responsibilities efficiently. They cannot stand still in the face of challenges because they will be superseded and kept at a back foot. Social implications Markets and states are embedded in each other, and the way they are regulated is of a significant importance to varied stakeholders and people. Originality/value This paper is one of its kind, is unique in its character and evaluates embedded issues using empirical evidence in a way not done in its context before. Secondary data sources have been evaluated to achieve a thoughtful analysis of the objectives of the paper.

Major obstacles facing business enterprises in an emerging economy: the case of Ghana using the World Bank Enterprise Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-487
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Mohammed ◽  
Alhassan Bunyaminu
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Emerging Economy ◽  
Probit Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Business Enterprises ◽  
World Bank Enterprise Survey ◽  
Enterprise Survey

PurposeThis paper aims at identifying the major obstacles to business enterprise in an emerging economy and how these obstacles are associated with different characteristics of the enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThe study relied on the World Bank Enterprise Survey data on Ghana and applied binary and ordinal probit regression techniques to estimate the associations between the characteristics of the enterprises and the identified obstacles. Significance testing of the associations is also conducted.FindingsThe five main obstacles perceived by most of the enterprises in the study are access to finance, electricity, access to land, customs and trade regulations and tax rates. These obstacles are associated in different ways to growth rate (high vs low growth), scale (small and medium vs large), age, size of employees, the experience of the top manager and ownership (wholly domestic vs foreign ownership).Research limitations/implicationsAs a cross-sectional study focusing on Ghana, the findings are informative about the major obstacles facing business enterprises in an emerging economy; however, the ecological validity of these findings may be limited to factors specific to Ghana.Originality/valueGiven the representativeness of the Enterprise Survey, policymakers can rely on these findings to formulate useful policies to promote the operations of business enterprises.

THE COVID-19 FINANCIAL PROBLEMS AND ASPECTS OF AUDIT QUALITY ASSURANCE IN GEORGIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1(21)) ◽  
pp. 22-31
Author(s):  
David Bidzinashvili
Keyword(s):  
Audit Quality ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
The World ◽  
Main Variable ◽  
The Subject ◽  
High Level ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
Working Out

The new Corona-virus and the contagious disease which it causes, the so called COVID 19, put forward the serious challenges for many countries all over the world and for Georgia among them. Almost the whole world is facing very serious obstacles on the international and national levels. Too many problems emerged in the world countries. To resist against the new disease has become the main priority for each country. The global processes caused by the pandemics have influenced the audit service as well. The uncertainty and unpredictability caused the new risks of deficiencies and activated already existed ones in the new environment. The situation became more complicated due to the fact that it can happen that the auditors do not consider the mentioned risks in the process of planning for audits or the risks may be considered mistakenly. The firms and other economical institutions in which the audit is carried out are obliged to adopt the new rules and changing environments in which their businesses function; they should change the rules of fulfilling the operation, preparing the financial accounts, the processes of their representing the information processes, safety of information shown in the financial accounts, the rules of their preparing; they also evaluate the possibilities of keeping on their activities in the nearest future. The qualified performing of the audit implies the basical elemenst which helps to create such environment where the possibility of the high level audit will be at the maximum. Implementing the quality control implies that such system will include two stages; each of them is directed towards providing the audit processes according the international standards There are several types of the quality improvement system. In all of them the main variable value represents the amount of costs for the proper system. All countries choose the system which provides benefits taking the costs into consideration. There are four main stages in the process of implementation the system which will ensure the high quality audit. Here are four main stages shown in the process of implementation:  The first stage: to carry out diagnostic observation;  The second stage: stating the view;  The third sage: working out the system;  The fourth stage: implementation of the system. The firms and other economical institutions where the audit is carried out are obliged to be reliable with their activities in the changing situation in which their businesses function. The subjects change the rules of carrying out the usual operations, change the open information given in the financial accounts, and estimate the possibilities of maintaining the existing possibilities for the nearest future. It is important to revise some standards out of Audit International Standards and to make them fit for revealing and assessing the risks of essential mistakes and discrepencies. The controlled variation of the standard regulates such issues as the newly corrected risks caused by influences of COVID-19 pandemic on the planned approaches to the audit and also, evaluation of the risks already defined and making changes in them taking into consideration the influence of the errors in the risk evaluations and influence made upon the planned evaluations and audits the changes of which will influence the evaluations of the risks in the inner control of the subject on the previously made imagination of the control environment, in order to define the measures to be taken in order to change the reactions to the mistakes using different measures in order to reach the trustful mechanisms to rely on. International standards of audit– answering to the assessed risks, the checked variation of the standard implies that it maybecome necessary to change the measures of reaction to the changes in the circumstances in order to obtain enough reliable measures and activities to control the situation by means of enough auditory evidences. The auditor has responsibilities to take into consideration that largening the deadlines will cause growth of the period and the risks of the dates of events which will happen in the time interval between accountability date and the date of the conclusion made by audit, the audit is also responsible for any event taking place later in relation to the Covid-19 situation. He is responsible also for evaluation of the fact about financial information. The enterprise functioning within nowadays complex environment taking into consideration the situation of COVID 19, should consider such priority issues as the uncertainty accompanying the Covid situation, related covenants, and others which accompany the pandemic period, among them the region, the financial state of customers and dealers, liquidating and paying capacity. During the process of the risk assessments it should considered that Covid 19 pandemic greatly influenced the global economics and the separate branches such as hotels business, retail sail, tourism and others. As a result of pandemic, it is possible that the number of audit considerations and thee circumstances can modify them which can be conditioned by different circumstances and the audit will state if there are incorrectable improper conditioned due to the circumstances. The audit will make it certain there are unimprovable mistakes which apart and together are essential for the financial accountability and the auditor will conclude that they cannot acquire the proper conditioned which apart or together could be essential financial accounts or the audit will conclude that they are not able to the essential accountability. Important researches were led to assess the appeared situation and it was concluded that the COVID 19 pandemic had influenced the financial situation which showed that the specific actions and procedures became complicated.

East and West will divide over new Bosnian viceroy

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Common Interest ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
East And West ◽  
Dayton Agreement ◽  
Negative Behaviour ◽  
Roll Out ◽  
The Eu

Significance The summit’s avowed aim was to renew the EU-US ‘Transatlantic partnership’, including committing to upholding the international rules-based order built around the UN. It called for cooperation with Russia in areas of common interest despite its repeated “negative behaviour”. Such strains include Russia’s opposition to appointing a new high representative for Bosnia. Impacts Vucic’s call for regular reports from the high representative recognises his legitimacy while asserting Serbian interest in BiH. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic’s support for the 1995 Dayton agreement weakens outside backing for Bosnian Croat separatism. The World Bank has left its growth forecast for BiH unchanged from January, provided vaccine roll-out accelerates.

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