Resumo Este artigo propõe um modelo para explicar falhas na adoção compulsória de novas práticas no ciclo de gestão financeira em municípios. Empiricamente, aplica-se o modelo à adoção de sistemas de controle interno (SCI) em municípios brasileiros. As evidências da análise qualitativa comparada (qualitative comparative analysis - QCA) em sete prefeituras mostram que, apesar de recursos humanos e de sistemas serem condição necessária, eles não são suficientes para a implementação das práticas de controle interno. O chamado capital institucional é uma condição sine qua non para a adoção de novas práticas de administração e controle financeiro em governos locais no Brasil. A adoção dessas reformas depende da atuação de uma rede de “atores com poder” que realizam trabalho institucional em prol das mudanças.

This study aimed to identify the trajectories for data collection automation in various Courts of Accounts (Tribunais de Contas), the standard features of the systems that have emerged, and the impacts on fiscal and accounting oversight in Brazil. Data collection automation is part of the digital transformation in the field of auditing; however, the literature on public sector auditing in Brazil, on digital transformation, or digital infrastructure, does not analyze how this transformation occurs and how the infrastructures are stabilized and shape the field of auditing. Data collection automation has unexpected implications for the content of public sector audits and the financial management of the public sector auditees. Identifying the trajectories for digital tools of data collection automation enables a discussion on whether currently adopted solutions vary and the effects on the standardization of government audits. The automation of data collection by the Court of Accounts, particularly its scope and frequency, affects how the audited public organizations prioritize the adoption and maintenance of accounting, budgeting, and financial planning policies and processes. The digital infrastructures that emerge from these digital tools shape the entire field of auditing, they become embedded, and they increase the cost of future changes, perpetuating the heterogeneity in the auditing and financial management of governments in the Brazilian federation. The article presents a longitudinal case study (1994 to 2020), with narratives built based on questionnaires and interviews with auditors from 26 Courts of Accounts. The automation of budgetary and accounting data collection by Courts of Accounts has changed the logic of the field of government auditing in Brazil. The digital infrastructures that emerge by connecting Courts and the audited public organizations under their jurisdictions have embedded concepts, definitions, and implicit expectations in a remote auditing logic.

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PurposeThe successful implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) depends on the adoption and subsequent maintenance of accrual accounting policies. Moreover, Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) are important drivers of reforms, and their replacement might disrupt the execution of accrual accounting policies. This paper aims to analyze the effects of FMIS replacement (or maintenance) on the retention of accrual accounting policies in Brazilian local governments.Design/methodology/approachThe research adopts a sequential mixed-methods approach, starting with a quantitative analysis of the presence of accrual accounting policies in local governments and the effects of FMIS replacement. Next, a qualitative analysis is conducted with a survey, documents and interviews to observe the FMIS replacement process. Our analysis focuses on local governments from one state in Brazil, but the context is highly transferable to other states, as the same procurement law and accounting regulations apply.FindingsFMIS replacement may reduce accounting policies retention; consequently, public procurement regulation may induce a public procurement context in which the IPSAS project would find more difficulties to prosper.Research limitations/implicationsThis research contributes to the IPSAS literature by examining the phenomenon of accounting policies retention or persistence, as one should not take it for granted that an adopted accounting procedure will be sustained over time. The analysis argues that FMIS replacement due to compulsory rebidding should be carefully considered.Practical implicationsPromoters of accounting reforms may consider the regulation of contracting out for FMIS a relevant issue to the institutionalization of accounting policies.Originality/valueThe analysis innovates by linking IPSAS accounting reform to the contracting out of FMIS.

O artigo compara o conteúdo das Normas de Auditoria Governamental com os processos de auditoria que são efetivamente realizados nos diversos Tribunais de Contas brasileiros em relação às contas de governos municipais. Ainda, identifica o escopo de auditoria priorizado pelos Tribunais de Contas e se esta é realizada presencialmente. As práticas de auditoria realizadas por 105 Auditores de Tribunais de Contas foram coletadas e comparadas com a percepção de 344 contadores municipais a eles jurisdicionados. Os resultados apontam para baixa observação de uso padronizado de Normas de Auditoria Governamentais, dando evidências do gap regulação-prática. Complementa-se que o escopo de auditoria dos Tribunais de Contas é voltado à legalidade, com baixa atenção à auditoria presencial. O artigo discute as implicações das práticas de auditoria observadas sobre (i) o monitoramento da atual reforma na contabilidade pública, (ii) as informações consolidadas no Balanço do Setor Público Nacional (BSPN), e (iii) mecanismos de accountability no desenho de políticas públicas.