Factors affecting accrual accounting reform and transparency of performance in the public sector in Vietnam

This study was conducted to determine the factors and their influence on accrual accounting reform in the public sector in Vietnam. Combining qualitative and quantitative research methods based on empirical surveys of 268 accountants, controllers, and auditors working in state agencies such as the Department of Finance, state treasuries and agencies receiving revenues from the state budget in 2019. This study shows that six factors influence the reform of the accounting system in the public sector in Vietnam to accrual-based: accounting staff – especially their expertise, competence, and work experience; training and support of the consulting experts; costs of the accounting reform; level of information technology application; funding and assistance from international organizations; legal environment.At the same time, the accrual-based accounting reform will have a positive impact on improving the transparency and efficiency of public sector operations in Vietnam. Among the factors affecting accounting reform, the legal environment factor is the most influential determinant, followed by the contingent of accountants. The study’s limitation is that the new experimental investigation is only conducted with a small sample size and in a short period. However, the research results are also a useful reference for those who are interested in the context that Vietnam is preparing to have strong reforms in accounting in the public sector in the coming time.

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Accrual accounting and public finance reforms in Hungary: the study of application in the public sector

Economic Annals-ХХI ◽

10.21003/ea.v183-09 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 183 (5-6) ◽

pp. 89-105

Author(s):

Csaba Lentner ◽

◽

Petronella Molnar ◽

Vitez Nagy ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Finance ◽

Public Sector ◽

Historical Background ◽

Accounting System ◽

The European Union ◽

Accrual Accounting ◽

Public Funds ◽

The Public ◽

Table Analysis ◽

The Impact

Introduction. The increasing measurability of performances in the public sector in the countries of the post-soviet region, including Hungary, has come to the limelight in recent decades. Accrual accounting, adopted in Hungary in 2014 on the recommendation of the European Union, provides decision-makers with reliable information and simultaneously improves transparency in spending. Purpose and Methodology. This study focuses on the impacts and synergies of the parallel comprehensive reforms in the public finances and the adoption of the accrual accounting system. We conducted an empirical research among 2425 budgetary organisations (during June 2018 - January 2019) and analysed the correlation between the variables with cross-table analysis. Our survey covered 19.1 per cent of all the budget organisations in Hungary. Thus, thanks to the sample size the survey results analysis gives a comprehensive view of the entire country based on the real feedback regarding the implementation of the new practices. Results. In the course of the survey, the organisations were asked to describe how they were affected by the transition to the new accounting system, how they had prepared for the statutory changes and compliance, what additional tasks the adoption of the new system required of them, and how they evaluated the impacts of the application of accrual accounting after five years. The inquiry focussed on the impact this new accrual-based accounting system had on the business management of the given organisation and thus the efficient use of public funds. The results confirm that the historical background and the peculiarities of managing public funds in a country should also be taken into account during the adoption of reforms along with thorough preparation. Our research also sheds light on the fact that the successful 2014 adoption of accrual accounting could achieve its full purpose in an environment ensured by comprehensive public finance reforms and laws adopted after 2010. In other words, the precondition of enforcing the new rules of accrual accounting applied in the public sector included the reinforcement of budgetary regulation and control procedures. Conclusion. The study reports more favourable public sector procedures, proves that the adoption of accrual accounting has been justified and that the higher focus on performance and efficiency achieved through accrual accounting is important.

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From Accountability to Readability in the Public Sector: Evidence from Italian Universities

International Journal of Business and Management ◽

10.5539/ijbm.v12n3p27 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 27

Author(s):

Alessandra Allini ◽

Luca Ferri ◽

Marco Maffei ◽

Annamaria Zampella

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Financial Statements ◽

Accounting System ◽

Accrual Accounting ◽

Accounting Systems ◽

Balance Sheets ◽

The Public ◽

The Past ◽

Italian Government ◽

Final Sample

This paper aims to explore the readability of the disclosure provided by Italian universities that changed their accounting systems to accrual accounting over the past three years. The transition from cash to accrual accounting not only concerns financial statements, but also the related notes. Indeed, the Italian government has paid great attention to the narrative sections of reports due to their capacity to provide more transparency. To provide better accountability, financial statements must be readable for all stakeholders. We used two different indexes, namely the Gunning fog and GULPEase indexes. The analysis was conducted on a sample of universities to analyze the narrative sections of the first financial statements prepared according to the new accounting system in 2012–2014. The final sample comprised 32 Italian universities. The research results demonstrated low readability in the balance sheets of Italian universities after switching to accrual accounting, illustrating an unsatisfactory level of accountability.

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Perception of the Malaysian Federal Government accountants of the usefulness of financial information under an accrual accounting system: a preliminary assessment

Meditari Accountancy Research ◽

10.1108/medar-04-2020-0845 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Suhaiza Ismail

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Public Sector ◽

Federal Government ◽

Work Experience ◽

Accounting Information ◽

Perceived Usefulness ◽

Financial Information ◽

Accounting System ◽

Accrual Accounting ◽

Content Type

Purpose The objective of this study is to examine the perceived usefulness of accrual accounting-based financial information for accountability and for supporting decision-making in public sector organisations. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey adapted from Kober et al. (2010) was used to survey Malaysian Federal Government accountants to ascertain their views on the usefulness of accrual accounting information across 12 situations regarding accountability and decision-making. Mean scores and mean score ranking were computed on a total of 165 usable responses received. The independent t-test was conducted to investigate the differences in the perception between “accountants with” and the “accountants without” prior work experience in the private sector. Findings The study provides evidence that Malaysian Federal Government accountants consider accrual accounting information as very useful for decision-making. The three most important decision-usefulness indicators in the survey are “To assist in managing the department’s assets and liabilities”, “To assess cash flow needs of a department” and “For departmental resource allocation decisions”. The least useful accrual accounting information as perceived by the Malaysian public sector accountants is “To assist in discharging the department’s accountability obligations”. Originality/value The study provides valuable insights into the extent to which accrual accounting information is considered useful for accountability and decision-making, lending support to the Malaysian Government’s reform agenda of moving towards using accrual accounting in public sector organisations at the federal level.

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Cash to accrual accounting: Does it mean more control for the public sector? The case of revenue from non-exchange transactions

Risk Governance and Control Financial Markets & Institutions ◽

10.22495/rgcv3i4art3 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 28-35

Author(s):

Francesco Capalbo ◽

Marco Sorrentino

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Financial Management ◽

Public Management ◽

New Public Management ◽

Accounting System ◽

Accrual Accounting ◽

The Public ◽

Accounting Measurement ◽

New Public ◽

Exchange Transactions

Within the New Public Management, a fundamental role is played by changes in accounting measurement and recognition systems (in this case, the literature speaks specifically of New Public Financial Management). It has been substantially characterized by a gradual shift from cash to accrual accounting. In light of it, this paper aims to analyze some of the most significant conceptual and practical implications associated with the use of accrual accounting in the public sector – such as Italy’s, where most entities still use cash accounting – by looking closely at that full-accrual standard that seem to best show the system’s innovative reach: IPSAS 23 – Revenue from Non-Exchange Transactions (Taxes and Transfers). The switch-over broadens the scope of the accounting system, thereby leading to the recognition and consequent valuation of all the resources of any public-sector entity in its financial statements. As is often the case, though, greater utility implies greater complexity and innumerable elements of uncertainty are evidently still present.

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The effect of audit findings and audit recommendation follow-up on the financial report and public service quality in Indonesia

International Journal of Public Sector Management ◽

10.1108/ijpsm-06-2019-0173 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 33 (5) ◽

pp. 535-559

Author(s):

Andi Chairil Furqan ◽

Ratna Wardhani ◽

Dwi Martani ◽

Dyah Setyaningrum

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Public Services ◽

Accounting System ◽

Accrual Accounting ◽

Financial Reports ◽

Content Type ◽

Financial Report ◽

The Public

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the effect of audit findings and audit recommendations follow-up on the quality of financial reports and the quality of public services in the context of applying accrual accounting systems to local government in Indonesia. This study also examines whether the quality of the financial report affects the quality of public services.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed cross-sectional regression using data from 1,437 observations from 491 districts/cities for 2014–2016. The data illustrates the conditions prior to the adoption of the accrual accounting system (2014), the initial year of application/transition period (2015) and the second year of the expected accrual accounting system (2016).FindingsThe results of the study indicate that, in general, the quality of financial reports affects the quality of public services. Regarding the implementation of audits in the public sector, it is also found that audit findings have a negative impact on the quality of financial report and the quality of public services, while audit recommendations follow-up plays a positive role in improving the quality of financial report and the quality of public services.Research limitations/implicationsThe implication of the results of this study is closely related to the efforts to realize the ultimate goal of the recent government reforms. In order to increase the quality of public services in the era of higher report requirements through an accrual accounting system, the government should focus on the quality of financial reports, audit findings and the audit recommendations follow-up.Originality/valueThis study provides new insight on the link between the public sector auditing and the quality of accounting in accrual implementation context and the quality of public services.

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

Tékhne ◽

10.2478/tekhne-2019-0003 ◽

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.

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Analysis of Financial Performance of Public Sector Banks in India: CAMEL

Arthaniti-Journal of Economic Theory and Practice ◽

10.1177/0976747920966866 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 097674792096686

Author(s):

Yudhvir Singh ◽

Ram Milan

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Banking Sector ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Capital Adequacy ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Public Sector Banks ◽

The Government ◽

And Performance ◽

Asset Quality

Public sector banks have been merged by the government in the last few years. This is the rationale behind conducting this study. The purpose of this article is to determine the factors affecting the performance of public sector banks in India and the interrelationship between bank-specific determinants and performance of public sector banks. In this article, we shall analyse the financial data of all the public sector commercial banks for a period spread across 11 years (2009–2019); Capital adequacy, Assets quality, Management efficiency, Earning, and Liquidity (CAMEL) has been used as a performance determinant; system generalised method of moments (GMM) analysis has been used to find the effect of determinants on the performance measurement of public sector banks; and CCA (canonical correlation analysis) has been used to find the interrelationship between the bank-specific determinants and the performance of public sector banks. The finding has important implications in terms of performance in the banking sector. Certain limitations of this study are: It is based on secondary data. The study only covers the financial aspects and not the non-financial aspects. It is found that the asset quality is negatively related with performance of public sector banks. Liquidity and inflation are inversely related to performance of public sector banks in India. Capital adequacy is positively related with banks’ performance, but inversely related with banks’ interest margin. GDP growth has a significant positive impact on banks’ performance, but inversely related with banks’ interest income. Inflation rate is inversely related with banks’ performance. Banking sector reforms are insignificantly related with banks’ performance.

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La evolución del sector público español en el periodo 1960-2000

Acciones e Investigaciones Sociales ◽

10.26754/ojs_ais/ais.200826333 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 45

Author(s):

Estela Sáenz Rodríguez

Keyword(s):

Structural Change ◽

Public Sector ◽

Statistical Properties ◽

Point Of View ◽

Graphic Display ◽

The Public ◽

Short Period ◽

Depth Analysis

En este artículo se ofrece un análisis detallado de la evolución del sector público español desde la vertiente del gasto. En primer lugar, se presenta una breve reflexión acerca de la medición del tamaño del sector público. A continuación, se realiza una descripción histórica y gráfica de las series de gasto escogidas en el periodo 1960-2000. Las mismas nos revelan el importante cambio estructural experimentado por el sector público español en un periodo de tiempo relativamente corto. Finalizamos el estudio con un análisis de las propiedades estadísticas de estas variables.This article offers an in-depth analysis of the evolution of the Spanish public sector from the point of view of expenditure. First, there is a brief reflection on measuring the size of the public sector.This is followed by a description of the history and graphic display of the spending series chosen during the period 1960-2000. These show us the important structural change experienced by the Spanish public sector within a relatively short period of time. The study is completed with an analysis of the statistical properties of these variables.

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Accrual Basis Landscape: The Absence of Political Will in Preventing Dysfunctional Behaviour in Indonesia

GATR Journal of Accounting and Finance Review (AFR) Vol. 4 (4) Oct-Dec 2019 - GATR Accounting and Finance Review ◽

10.35609/afr.2018.3.3(2) ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

pp. 77-83

Author(s):

Syarifuddin Syarifuddin

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Local Governments ◽

Good Governance ◽

Jel Classification ◽

Government Officials ◽

Accrual Accounting ◽

The Public ◽

Creative Accounting ◽

Critical Phenomenology ◽

Accrual Basis

Objective - This research aims to reveal the failure of accrual accounting to create good governance and clean government in local governments in Indonesia. Additionally, the research seeks to examine the increase in accrual based rapid growth in Indonesia and the instance of corruption among government officials. Methodology/Technique - In connection with this objective, the study explains the practical perspective of political intervention during the adoption of accrual accounting and examines the role of the community in the implementation of accrual accounting using a critical phenomenology method. Findings - The findings of this study show that accrual-based accounting encourages deviant behaviour within the public sector and hence, good governance and clean government cannot be achieved. Accrual basis in this regard becomes a means for actors to conceal fraud by exploiting the weaknesses of accrual-based accounting to allow for creative accounting. Novelty - This study uses a qualitative method to describe the implementation of accrual-based accounting in local governments in Indonesia, which is a new approach to this phenomenon. Type of Paper: Empirical Keywords: Accrual; Accounting; Public Sector; Good Governance; Clean Government; Indonesia. JEL Classification: M10, M14, M19

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