scholarly journals Answer to the book review on “Public Sector Accounting and Auditing in Europe. The Challenge of Harmonization”, by Isabel Brusca, Eugenio Caperchione, Sandra Cohen and Francesca Manes Rossi (Governance and Public Management Series, Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Brusca ◽  
Eugenio Caperchione ◽  
Sandra Cohen ◽  
Francesca Manes Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Public Sector Accounting

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.

Accounting Reforms for Accountable Public Sector Management

2020 ◽  
pp. 41-64
Author(s):  
Chitra Sriyani De Silva Lokuwaduge ◽  
Keshara M. De Silva Godage
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting

Accounting reforms in the public sector have become one of the most debated aspects of the public sector financial management during the last three decades. Following the steps of developed countries around the globe, Sri Lanka as a developing country made initiatives to adopt international public sector accounting standards (IPSAS). The purpose of this study is to analyse the progress and the challenges they face in adopting IPSAS as a new public management (NPM) reform in Sri Lanka to enhance public sector accountability. Public sector accounting reforms in the developing countries in Asia is relatively under researched. Using the NPM concept, this study attempts to fill this gap. This chapter argues that even though Sri Lanka has initiated the move towards adopting IPSAS, developing countries face practical problems in adopting reforms due to their contextual factors such as limited institutional capacity and resources, high political involvements in decision-making, and high informality.

scholarly journals Intellectual heritages of post-1990 public sector accounting research: an exploration

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 2077-2110
Author(s):  
Hans-Jürgen Bruns ◽  
Mark Christensen ◽  
Alan Pilkington
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Research ◽  
Loosely Coupled ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Cumulative Knowledge

PurposeThe article's aim is to refine prospects for theorising in public sector accounting (PSA) research in order to capture the methodological benefits promised by its multi-disciplinarity.Design/methodology/approachThe study primarily employs a bibliometric analysis of research outputs invoking New Public Management (NPM). Applying a content analysis to Hood (1991), as the most cited NPM source, bibliographic methods and citation/co-citation analysis for the period 1991 to 2018 are mobilised to identify the disciplinary evolution of the NPM knowledge base from a structural and longitudinal perspective.FindingsThe analysis exhibits disciplinary branching of NPM over time and its imprints on post-1990 PSA research. Given the discourse about origins of NPM-based accounting research, there are research domains behind the obvious that indicate disciplinary fragmentations. For instance, novelty of PSA research is found in public value accounting, continuity is evidenced by transcending contextual antecedents. Interestingly, these domains are loosely coupled. Exploring the role of disciplinary imprints designates prospects for post-NPM PSA research that acknowledges multi-disciplinarity and branching in order to deploy insularity as a building block for its inquiries.Research limitations/implicationsCriteria for assessing the limitations and credibility of an explorative inquiry are used, especially on how the proposal to develop cumulative knowledge from post-1990 PSA research can be further developed.Practical implicationsA matrix suggesting a method of ordering disciplinary references enables positioning of research inquiries within PSA research.Originality/valueBy extending common taxonomies of PSA intellectual heritages, the study proposes the ‘inquiry-heritage’ matrix as a typology that displays patterns of theorisation for positioning an inquiry within PSA disciplinary groundings.

scholarly journals Public Sector Accounting in Europe: A Systematic Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 88
Author(s):  
Helio Corguinho Fernandes ◽  
Joao Lopes Pita ◽  
Jose Domingues Jesus ◽  
Guilherme Martins Camara
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public Management ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Bibliometric Study ◽  
Public Accounting ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Accounting Changes ◽  
The Impact

There has been an increased interest in public sector accounting research due to the changing standards worldwide with harmonization on the horizon. Despite this trend, there is still a lack of comprehension of national and local governments’ role in adopting and improving the international standards to enhance accountability, transparency and developing a more consistent and evolved society. This article aims to systematically review the literature on public accounting in European countries by examining the research trends.The analysis is developed through a bibliometric study based on three keywords: “Public Sector”, “Accounting”, and “Europe”. We systematically analyze the articles in the Web of Science database.This work presents several articles through a bibliometric study based on defined keywords. To define the relationship between the articles and the most cited authors, we based the systematic analysis on the aggregation of articles by clusters.In the last twenty years, public accounting in Europe has undergone significant changes, adapting to needs and innovations, which the most prominent resides in new accounting standards.Adopting International Public Sector Accounting Standards can benefit countries that introduce them into their system, namely increasing the system’s responsibility and transparency.Research is inevitably limited by the impact of public accounting changes in Europe and governments’ responses to social, economic and fiscal environments.This systematic review shed light on the challenges that public management has faced recently.

Exploring the New Public Management (NPM)-Based Reforms in the Public Sector Accounting

2016 ◽  
pp. 49-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chitra Sriyani De Silva Lokuwaduge
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Resource Dependence ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Resource Dependence Theory ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting

This Chapter aims to explore the process of adopting International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) as a New Public Management (NPM) based reform in Sri Lanka as a developing country. Based on institutional theory and resource dependence theory, framework was developed to highlight the importance of reforms and of changes in the area of public sector accounting specifically during the last three decades. It shows the extent to which Sri Lankan public sector has adopted IPSAS based accounting reforms and the limitations of adopting these standards in developing countries. This chapter argues that adopting reforms in developing countries is problematic due to limited resources and concludes that, significant changes towards adoption of IPSAS and implementing some of the reform ideas has taken place during the last decade. Relatively little is known about the NPM-based reforms in public sector accounting practices in developing countries. This is an attempt to fill this gap.

scholarly journals Public sector accounting in emerging economies: a review of the papers published in the first decade of Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan van Helden ◽  
Pawan Adhikari ◽  
Chamara Kuruppu
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Sector Reforms ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting

PurposeA review of papers on public sector accounting in emerging economies, as published in the Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies' (JAEE) first decade.Design/methodology/approachA reflection on the issues covered and achievements made in the reviewed papers in the context of extant knowledge in this domain.FindingsA majority of the research in JAEE is dominated by accounting reforms inspired by New Public Management (NPM). Performance management, budgeting and accrual accounting are the main topics in the reviewed research. NPM claims, which can range from usability and use of a new accounting repertoire to desirable impacts on efficiency and service delivery, are often not fulfilled. Many papers attempt to explain failing accounting innovations by the local context in which they are embedded, including political instability, poor governance and a lack of capabilities.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper reviews research in a niche journal, but the findings are related to wider public sector accounting literature.Practical implicationsPublic sector practitioners, but also researchers, need to move away from a focus on public sector reforms due to contextual circumstances leading to built-in failures and concentrate instead on understanding how the accounting repertoire works in practice, including routes for improvements therein.Originality/valueAn original framework for analysing public sector accounting research in emerging economies is proposed, which, among others, distinguishes between various ambition levels for achieving NPM reforms.

scholarly journals Italian Public Sector Accounting Reform: A Step Towards European Public Sector Accounting Harmonisation

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Mussari ◽  
Daniela Sorrentino
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Government Accounting ◽  
Italian Experience ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
European Public ◽  
Public Sector Accounting ◽  
Path Dependent

Abstract This paper discusses post-New Public Management (NPM) approaches to current patterns of public management reforms as a path-dependent phenomenon and as proposing corrective solutions to unintended shortcomings of NPM-inspired reforms. Public sector accounting reforms are seen as developing coherently with general public managerial reforms, and as showing a shift in the prioritised purposes assigned to public accounts in line with the overall design of projected reform-making. EU public sector accounting harmonisation is interpreted in this framework, and the Italian experience of public sector accounting reform is discussed in the light of EU membership. Particular emphasis is given to the likely overlap between national and government accounting due to increasingly shared purposes, whereby the former acquires a functional supportive role to the latter. Considerations on the drivers, as well as on the technical solutions of the new Italian public sector accounting system, suggest that Italian public sector accounting has taken a step in the direction of European public sector accounting harmonisation. Finally, the Italian case provides evidence of post-NPM-like accounting reform, contributing to the scanty empirical research on this topic.

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.

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).

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