ATTEMPTS AT DEVELOPING A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING IN NEW ZEALAND

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuruz Zaman Miah
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Public Sector Accounting

scholarly journals Sector neutrality: A possible improvement of the accounting standards. Evidence from NZ model

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Marsigalia ◽  
Renato Giovannini
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Reporting Standards ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Accounting Model

In May and June 2018, the Italian financial crisis (public debt) got back to the news when the new political government was going to be formed. Part of the literature claims that the public sector needed to be more "business-like" and that in order to do so, the adoption of "better", in this case "accrual", accounting was crucial. New Zealand is the pioneer country for accrual-based government accounting. More than ten years ago, when the adoption of IFRS was mandatory, New Zealand standard setters preserved sector neutrality in the financial reporting standards. Thanks to a systematic literature review, the paper investigates the evidence of NZ accounting sector neutrality model, with the purpose to assess if importing NZ public sector accounting model would be efficient for allowing a higher level of transparency in other countries such as Italy. The methodology is to define the economic literature relevant to the topic, considering the year of publication and the citation rate. Recently, standard setters in NZ decided to adopt a sector specific standard setting approach with multiple tiers for each sector. The for-profit sector will continue to follow IFRS but reporting standards for the public sector will be based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). Amongst the former contributes, no systematic research overview on public sector accounting has been created based on the NZ model. This article fills this void by providing a systematic literature review of 258 publications that examines five key aspects of the literature on the benchmark accounting model.

Progressive public administration and new public management in public sector accountancy

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Vivian ◽  
Warren Maroun
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting

Purpose This paper aims to evaluate responses to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board’s proposed conceptual framework for evidence of support of new public management doctrines by key stakeholders, namely, accounting professionals, government agencies and international bodies. Design/methodology/approach The research uses a content analysis of response letters to select phases of the conceptual framework project to identify themes/principles pointing to acceptance or rejection of new public management principles by stakeholders. Findings Accounting professionals tend to support proposals that are consistent with principles of new public management providing evidence of normative and mimetic isomorphic pressure to align public and private sector accounting practices. Some government agencies and international organisations appear to have conformed but the majority resist efforts to incorporate a new public management discourse in public sector accounting. Research limitations/implications The study is based on a content analysis of publically available response letters. It does not engage directly with respondents. In addition, not all stakeholders have submitted an equal number of response letters, with the result that it was not possible to compare responses from the developed and developing world or according to variations in legal and governance systems. Originality/value The study provides empirical evidence of different perspectives of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board’s conceptual framework project, which have not been considered explicitly by the previous research. The findings support the view that the accounting profession, as an integral part of the capital market system, exerts pressure to drive standardisation of financialised accounting practices. In contrast, government agencies support accounting systems aligned with conventional accountability principles aligned with jurisdiction-specific contexts. The interaction of these opposing perspectives is a primary determinant of change in accounting practice in the public sector space.

In memory of Professor June Pallot

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-170
Author(s):  
Richard Laughlin
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Auditor General ◽  
The University

My first scheduled meeting with June ended up with my not meeting her at all! But the circumstances of this occasion do provide the opportunity to give a flavour of this extraordinarily talented woman that we have sadly lost. It was August 1993 and I was an Erskine Fellow at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she spent the last seven years of her busy and highly successful life. She was at this time on the staff of Victoria University in Wellington. I was invited to present a paper to the Department and gladly accepted since this would have given me an opportunity to meet June who had first come to my attention through her work on developing a theoretical framework for public sector accounting. On my arrival in Wellington I received a note from June to say that sadly, and with immense regret, she couldn't be at the seminar since she had to attend an important meeting with the Auditor General of New Zealand, which, despite her wish to meet me, was a commitment she just couldn't avoid. In fact, as I discovered, she had just started a two‐year secondment to the New Zealand Audit Office reporting directly to the Auditor General with a major policy brief that transpired to be highly influential to New Zealand Government thinking.

The Reporting Entity in Private-Public Accounting Harmonisation. Is Control Enough for the Local Government Consolidated Financial Statements?

2017 ◽  
pp. 5-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Carini ◽  
Laura Rocca ◽  
Claudio Teodori ◽  
Monica Veneziani
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Consolidated Financial Statements ◽  
The Public ◽  
Financial Accountability ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Reporting Entity

The European Commission initiated a discussion on the expediency of using the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), based on the IAS/IFRS, as a common base for harmonizing the public sector accounting systems of the member states. However, literature suggests that accounting is not neutral with respect to the economic, social and political dimensions. In the perspective of evolution of the accounting regulation outlined, balanced between accountability, with the need to represent phenomena for reporting pur-poses, and decisionmaking issues, which concentrates on the quantitative importance of the values, the paper aims to analyse the effects of the application of different criteria for the definition of the reporting entity of the local government consolidated financial statements (CFS). The Italian PCA 4/4, the test of control and the financial accountability approaches are examined. The evidence that emerged from the case studies examined identifies several criticalities in the Italian PCA 4/4 and support the thesis that the financial accountability approach is more effective in providing a complete representation of the public resources entrusted to and managed by the group, whereas the control approach better approximates quantification of the group results in terms of central government surveillance. The analysis highlights the importance of the post implementation review period and the opportunity to contextualize the adoption of the consolidated financial statement in the broader spectrum of the accounting harmonization process, participating in the process of definition of the European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS).

Comparison of the perception of overt and covert options in IPSAS financial statements by intergovernmental organizations

Tékhne ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-39
Author(s):  
Berit Adam
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Intergovernmental Organizations ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Accrual Accounting ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Primary Reference

AbstractSince 2012, the European Commission has embarked on the ambitious project to harmonize public sector accounting rules on all levels of government within Europe, mainly to improve the quality as well as the comparability of financial data. Although International Public Sector Accounting Standards were deemed not to be suitable for a simple take-over because of various reasons, they nevertheless shall function as a primary reference point for developing European Public Sector Accounting Standards. A total of 21 out of 28 central governments have already reformed their accounting standards to accrual accounting, and some of them have also relied on IPSAS in this exercise. Apart from governments, various international and supranational governmental organizations have also since the end of the 2000’s been reforming their accounting system to accrual accounting, and have in the same way relied on existing IPSAS. This paper explores accounting practices found in ten intergovernmental organizations (Commonwealth Secretariat, Council of Europe, European Commission, IAEA, INTERPOL, ITER, NAPMA, OECD, International Criminal Court, WFP) whose statements are prepared in compliance with IPSAS. It analyzes how overt and covert options contained in IPSAS with relevance to the activities of intergovernmental organizations are exercised and evaluates in which areas of accounting material differences in accounting practices can be found, which may hinder the comparability of financial statements prepared on the basis of IPSAS.

First-time adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards by Russian universities: Practical aspects

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-383
Author(s):  
L.I. Kulikova ◽  
I.I. Yakhin
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Academic Excellence ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
First Time ◽  
Russian Universities

Subject. This article examines the practice of first-time applying the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) by Russian higher education institutions. Objectives. The article aims to identify and address the problems associated with such application, and conduct a critical analysis of Russian universities' compliance with the requirements of the International Standards on their first-time adoption. Methods. For the study, we used observation, systematization, and a comparative analysis. Results. The article examines and describes the practical experience of the first-time use of IPSAS in the preparation of reporting by Russian educational institutions participating in the Russian Academic Excellence Project (5Top100 Project). It presents the results of the most typical reclassification adjustments of reporting items made by the universities when preparing their inductive statements of financial position as of the date of transition to IPSAS. Conclusions and Relevance. Most of the universities studied complied with the requirements of the IPSAS first-time adoption and provided comparative information in their first IPSAS financial reporting. The importance of the study is to justify the provision that financial reporting in accordance with IPSAS is appropriate to improve the international competitiveness of universities, which makes it possible to better reflect financial information on the activities of universities. The results of the study can be used in the practical activities of the Russian economy public sector organizations, and in the educational process of higher education institutions.

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