Selective application of the accrual principle in the construction of government finance statistics: EU evidence

Columbano, Claudio; Biondi, Lucia; Bracci, Enrico

doi:10.1080/09540962.2022.2065051

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…According to Jones and Caruana (2014, p. 267), the development of the concepts and measurement rules of the SNA have played no role in the development of accrual accounting; nor vice versa. Anyway, the construction of fiscal aggregates needs its own adjustment policies on input data, even if the public sector were to adopt a certain accrual basis of accounting (Daffin and Hobbs, 2011; Columbano et al. , 2022).…”

Section: Literature Review and Basic Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The System of National Accounts (SNA), in Europe the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010), and governmental financial statistics (GFS) together make up a harmonised accounting system that takes care of the macroeconomic policy and supranational fiscal surveillance needs. It is highly debatable how important it is that the accrual microdata information must be harmonised and complement the macroeconomic data that has its own purposes, selective criteria for input data and surveillance practices (Dabbicco, 2015;Oulasvirta and Bailey, 2016;Columbano et al, 2022). According to Jones and Caruana (2014, p. 267), the development of the concepts and measurement rules of the SNA have played no role in the development of accrual accounting; nor vice versa.…”

Section: Consolidated Financial Statement Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Consolidated financial statement information and group reporting in the central government: a user-oriented approach

Oulasvirta

2022

JPBAFM

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PurposeThis study aims to fill the research gap regarding the usability of group reporting information in the central government. It answers the question of how the consolidated information should be formed to benefit the real needs of governmental information users.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical research is based on a survey and interviews among key internal preparers and users in the central government sector in the case country, Finland.FindingsResults show that the private sector approach regarding consolidation is not appropriately transferable to the central government sector. The key stakeholders identified several economic and financial reporting needs that exceed what formal Consolidated Financial Statement (CFS) can offer. Consolidation is needed but not according to the extensive full control approach, but rather following the budgetary approach consolidating units of the legal person of the government, and further using the partial control approach for consolidating by discretion essential special purpose SOEs.Research limitations/implicationsRespondents and interviewees represented governmental internal organisations, free experts, auditors and financial managers from the group entities. Politicians and citizens were not directly represented.Practical implicationsResearch gives applicable insights into central governments planning and developing group reporting for information needs in a favourable cost-benefit ratio. Findings benefit the development of EU's EPSAS (European Public Sector Accounting Standards) project which is still incomplete.Social implicationsResearch recommends governments to make a thorough analysis before deciding on a new financial reporting system. A critical analysis prevents governments to waste money and resources on a reporting system not fulfilling the real needs of information users.Originality/valueThe value of this research is that the private sector approach in consolidation was not taken as granted. This study investigated critically and empirically the real need for consolidated information serving steering and overseeing purposes of the government's group entities.

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Section: Literature Review and Basic Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Consolidated Financial Statement Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consolidated financial statement information and group reporting in the central government: a user-oriented approach

Oulasvirta

2022

JPBAFM

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PMM CIGAR Annual Issue 2022, Public Money & Management, Vol. 42, No. 7 (October 2022)

Caperchione

Bisogno

Caruana

et al. 2022

Public Money & Management

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Better data for budgetary surveillance: EU law on statistics as key to unlocking the potential of public sector accounting

Helldorff,

Christiaens

2024

International Review of Administrative Sciences

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The quality of the data available for monitoring budgetary discipline of the Member States has been a hot topic within the European Union (EU) institutions and in the literature ever since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the inadequacy, not only of the data, but also of the policy instruments available for coordinating efforts and decision-making. In this paper, we attempt to unlock the potential of public sector accounting (PSA) for contributing to the improvement of EU surveillance mechanisms. We look beyond the idea of standardised accounting rules for the entire EU public sector (European Public Sector Accounting Standards) into a less controversial area of EU competence, and we explore the conditions for introducing reporting obligations based on PSA data as part of EU law on statistics. Points for practitioners The current succession of crises might create momentum for a change in EU fiscal policy-making. New instruments for the monitoring of the budgetary situation in the Member States could become necessary. The EU institutions cannot impose the European Public Sector Accounting Standards. However, a new standardised reporting instrument could become binding EU law if it would come in the shape of a statistical methodology. Basic principles of EU law guarantee that any new statistical reporting obligations are limited to what is necessary, proportionate and cost-effective.

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Selective application of the accrual principle in the construction of government finance statistics: EU evidence

Cited by 3 publications

References 33 publications

Consolidated financial statement information and group reporting in the central government: a user-oriented approach

Consolidated financial statement information and group reporting in the central government: a user-oriented approach

PMM CIGAR Annual Issue 2022, Public Money & Management, Vol. 42, No. 7 (October 2022)

Better data for budgetary surveillance: EU law on statistics as key to unlocking the potential of public sector accounting

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