A theoretical basis for public sector accrual accounting research: current state and perspectives

Bergmann, Andreas; Fuchs, Sandro; Schuler, Christoph

doi:10.1080/09540962.2019.1654319

Cited by 34 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…The standards' aim is to enhance the comparability of financial statements around the world, as well as to improve the quality of general purpose financial reporting produced by public sector entities. Following the trend of Anglo-Saxon countries, these standards are based on international business standards (International Financial Reporting Standards -IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (Bergmann et al, 2019).…”

Section: Accrual Accounting Reforms: the Two Sides Of The Coinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In spite of the above difficulties, accrual accounting and IPSAS are promoted in the public sector (Brusca et al, 2015;OECD/IFAC, 2017;Bergmann et al, 2019), in order to improve accountability and transparency, as well as comparability among countries. For example, in Latin American countries accrual accounting has been mainly inspired by the IPSAS, and it is still in an ongoing process.…”

Section: Accrual Accounting Reforms: the Two Sides Of The Coinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The reforms and innovations carried out are varied and include, among others, accrual financial reporting (Bergmann et al, 2019), the introduction of performance measurement and management accounting (Lapsley and Wright, 2004;Goddard and Simm, 2017), public sector auditing and control (Guthrie et al, 1999;Pollitt and Bouckaert, 2011) and, more recently, the use of new formats of reporting, such as sustainability or popular reporting (Manes-Rossi, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Guest editorialHappy endings and successful stories in public sector financial management: a lesson drawing perspective

Cohen

Rossi

Brusca

et al. 2021

IJPSM

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PurposePublic financial management has been characterized by the implementation of several innovations and reforms that embrace different areas and scope. These reforms aim at expenditure rationalization and efficiency enhancement, as well as the improvement of accountability and performance. Despite research having already paid attention to these innovations and reforms, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats empirically faced by public sector organizations still need to be investigated. This editorial introduces the special issue by emphasizing on the lessons that can be learned from past reform experiences.Design/methodology/approachThe editorial synthesizes some of the findings of the previous literature and evidences the necessity of both successful and unsuccessful stories, presenting a future agenda of research which emphasizes the use of case studies as a suitable method to get insights out of multiple experiences.FindingsThe four articles presented in this special issue, covering the topics of accrual accounting adoption, the use of financial statements by councilors, the use of performance information by politicians and the outsourcing of auditing in local governments, provide an overview of the efforts and challenges faced by public administrations by analyzing the influence of the institutional context, the relevance of political implications and their practical footprint.OriginalityIn this special issue, four successful stories that touch upon multiple facets of public financial management in different country contexts are discussed, and they signal important takeaway messages for further reforms.

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Section: Accrual Accounting Reforms: the Two Sides Of The Coinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Accrual Accounting Reforms: the Two Sides Of The Coinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Guest editorialHappy endings and successful stories in public sector financial management: a lesson drawing perspective

Cohen

Rossi

Brusca

et al. 2021

IJPSM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Several studies have assessed the accounting standards set by national or local governments following reforms which aim to shift towards a stricter application of accrual accounting. However, because there is no consistent analytical background for conducting empirical public sector accounting research (Bergmann et al, 2019), some authors used rough methods based on specific benchmarks that are not necessarily common or operable in other IJPSM 34,4 contexts (Christiaens, 1999), while others compared home-grown accounting models directly with IPSAS (Benito et al, 2007;Brusca et al, 2013;Christiaens et al, 2015). Indeed, this latter group has gradually become a consistent reference when assessing the international convergence of governmental accounting standards (Rossi et al, 2016).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the road towards IPSAS with a maturity model: a Swiss case study

Soguel

Luta

2021

IJPSM

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PurposeThe International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) have driven the modernisation of public systems of financial information. The extent and pace of their implementation remain uneven. The goal of this study was to measure whether and how much governmental accounting standards converge towards IPSAS' true and fair approach.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical context of the 26 Swiss cantons was used to apply a simplified maturity model. Under two successive reforms (maturity stages), each canton's accounting standards was assessed and scored. The derived maturity levels indicate how close—or far—each canton has stood from a state of full IPSAS compliance (full maturity), at each stage of the process.FindingsAs Swiss cantons have a certain degree of autonomy in setting their own accounting standards, the evolving paths they followed when implementing IPSAS were heterogeneous. The maturity level attained by each canton within each stage thus varies. However, the results show that the two successive reforms had an overall favourable impact on Swiss cantonal accounting standards compliance with IPSAS, and fairly improved the faithfulness of reported financial information.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the international literature on public accounting standards and provides new insights for the assessment of convergence with IPSAS.

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“…The analysis also looks to the Conceptual Framework to enrich and support discussion in areas beyond the scope of the standards such as recommended practices for nonfinancial information. Although the Conceptual Framework lacks authority, Bergmann et al (2019) suggest that the Conceptual Framework can serve as a general starting point to inform new theoretical developments. Following the lead of other researchers whose work reaches beyond current practices to explore novel solutions to the complex issue of accounting for intangible assets (Bloom, 2009;Lev and Zarowin, 1999;Mindermann et al, 2012), we also consider established approaches to measurement problems from areas outside accounting that may provide useful options for addressing measurement challenges in this context.…”

Section: The Analytic Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unrecognized assets created by public-sector investments in health and social services

Milinkovic

Hurley

Sweetman

et al. 2020

JPBAFM

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PurposeThis paper analyzes two types of potential intangible public-sector assets for consideration by public-sector accounting boards. Government investments in health and social programs can create two potential intangible assets: the intangible infrastructure used to deliver the health or social program and the enhanced human capital embodied in the recipients of program services. Because neither of these assets is currently recognized in a government's year-end financial statements or broader general-purpose financial reports (GPFR), these reports may underrepresent the government's true fiscal and service capacity.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses an international accounting standards framework to analyze: whether investments in health and social programs create intangible assets that meet the definition of an asset as set out by International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), whether they are assets of the government and whether they are recognizable for the purpose of financial reporting.FindingsThe intangible infrastructure asset created to facilitate the delivery of health and social programs would often qualify as a recognizable asset of the government. However, the enhanced recipient human capital asset created through the delivery of health and social programs would, in most instances, not qualify as a recognizable asset of the government, though there likely would be benefits from reporting on it through GPFRs or other mechanisms.Originality/valueThis paper makes two contributions. First, it identifies a previously overlooked intangible asset – the infrastructure created to facilitate the delivery of health and social programs. Second, it presents an argument regarding why, even when it fails to generate a recognizable intangible asset to government, it would be valuable for government to report such investments in supplementary statements.

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A theoretical basis for public sector accrual accounting research: current state and perspectives

Cited by 34 publications

References 53 publications

Guest editorialHappy endings and successful stories in public sector financial management: a lesson drawing perspective

Guest editorialHappy endings and successful stories in public sector financial management: a lesson drawing perspective

On the road towards IPSAS with a maturity model: a Swiss case study

Unrecognized assets created by public-sector investments in health and social services

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