Accruals and ‘accounting numbers management’ in UK executive agencies

Martínez, Vicente Pina; Arcas, María José; Martí, Caridad

doi:10.1080/09540962.2012.691306

Cited by 26 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…This evidence is consistent with previous empirical studies in NSW (Pilcher , , ), the UK (Pina et al ), the US (Stalebrink and Sacco ) and Sweden (Stalebrink ) suggesting that a significant problem exists in the way in which depreciation is recorded in local government. However, to date, no specific analysis has been made of how such practice might affect public policymaking in a post‐NPM environment.…”

Section: The Integrity Of Accounting Datasupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Moreover, different recognition thresholds and initial valuations or re-valuations of assets may exacerbate comparability concerns: for instance, 'any revaluation of assets above historical cost would result in increased depreciation charges, which once again could have a material impact on the apparent cost of government services' (Carlin 2000: 68). This evidence is consistent with previous empirical studies in NSW (Pilcher 2002(Pilcher , 2006(Pilcher , 2009, the UK (Pina et al 2012), the US (Stalebrink and Sacco 2007) and Sweden (Stalebrink 2007) suggesting that a significant problem exists in the way in which depreciation is recorded in local government. However, to date, no specific analysis has been made of how such practice might affect public policymaking in a post-NPM environment.…”

Section: The Integrity Of Accounting Datasupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Alternatively, inconsistencies may occur as a result of a poor understanding of the purposes of depreciation, the probable life of public assets or regulatory guidelines 'which are at best ambiguous and, at worst, misleading' (Pilcher 2006: 76). However, some evidence from Australia (Pilcher 2002(Pilcher , 2006(Pilcher , 2009, the United Kingdom (UK) (Pina et al 2012), the United States (US) (Stalebrink and Sacco 2007) and Sweden (Stalebrink 2007) suggests gaming/fraud by municipal officials.…”

Section: The Integrity Of Accounting Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Inconsistent Depreciation Practice and Public Policymaking: Local Government Reform in New South Wales

Drew

Dollery

2015

Australian Accounting Review

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Public policy based on numerical indicators -a form of 'public management by numbers' -has become commonplace across the world. Whereas a good deal is known about the deleterious effects of this type of policymaking -including ratcheting, output distortion and 'gaming' -unfortunately little attention has focused on the adverse local government policy consequences of inconsistent depreciation accruals by local authorities. This paper seeks to address this gap in the empirical literature on local government performance. After examining the use of accounting data by local government policymakers, the paper reviews available empirical evidence of inconsistent depreciation practice both in Australia and abroad. We then consider the recent New South Wales (NSW) Independent Local Government Review Panel's use of accounting ratios as supporting evidence for boundary change in local government as a case study of the adverse impact of inconsistent depreciation practice. The NSW experience clearly demonstrates the distortionary effects of empirical evidence resulting from significant variation in depreciation accruals by individual local councils. The paper concludes with an assessment of the options available to local government policymakers wishing to obtain more accurate accounting accrual data for policy formulation purposes.

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Section: The Integrity Of Accounting Datasupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: The Integrity Of Accounting Datasupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: The Integrity Of Accounting Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Inconsistent Depreciation Practice and Public Policymaking: Local Government Reform in New South Wales

Drew

Dollery

2015

Australian Accounting Review

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“…The measurement of "abnormal accruals" is based on the widely renowned model of Jones (1991). This method is used by Pina et al (2012), Ferreira et al (2013), Ballantine et al (2007).…”

Section: The Methodology and Methods Of Analysis Appliedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Sector Creative Accounting: A Literature Review

Cardoso

Fajardo

2014

SSRN Journal

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“…In regard to the barriers lack of transparency, criteria and justifications in the selection of nonprofits and issues of accountability and performance measurement, future research could investigate which attributes distinguish municipalities that generally comply with the Constitution, fiscal law and bidding law from those that generally do not comply with such regulation; such investigation could be enhanced if creative accounting or earnings management were considered as one of these attributes (Benito, Montesinos, & Bastida, 2008;Pina, Arcas, & Martí, 2012;Vinnari & Näsi, 2008). …”

Section: Final Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Auditing government-nonprofit relations in the Brazilian post-reformist context

Peci

Quintella

Cardoso

2012

BAR, Braz. Adm. Rev.

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Recent decades have been marked by a rising interaction between the State and nonprofits in order to address increasingly complex public issues. Government-nonprofit relations were guided by a complex and diverse legal framework, that transformed not only the implementation of public policies, but also the auditing practices and control of such relations. Previous studies have shown the influence of NPM reforms in auditing practices and institutions, of particular interest to this research is the Theory of the Audit Explosion (TEA). This paper analyzes the control of government-nonprofits relations, under the perspective of the TEA, specifically trying to comprehend if there is a causal relationship between the growth of government-nonprofit relations and the audit explosion in the Brazilian context, as predicted by the theory. A field research, based on documentary data and interviews, was undertaken in three Brazilian SAIs. The conclusions highlight the limitations of the explanatory capacity of TEA in Brazil. Although a formal audit explosion was observed, as predicted by TEA, there are substantive barriers to the audit explosion. This is mainly due to the organizational and institutional aspects related to governmental fund transfer entities. Such problems reflect the poor quality of the partnerships themselves and might be a consequence of political variables such as the spurious relationships of some parliamentary members or public employees with partner NGOs.

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Accruals and ‘accounting numbers management’ in UK executive agencies

Cited by 26 publications

References 23 publications

Inconsistent Depreciation Practice and Public Policymaking: Local Government Reform in New South Wales

Inconsistent Depreciation Practice and Public Policymaking: Local Government Reform in New South Wales

Public Sector Creative Accounting: A Literature Review

Auditing government-nonprofit relations in the Brazilian post-reformist context

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