Towards Harmonization or Standardization in Governmental Accounting? The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board Experience

Public Financial Management Reforms: The Role of Ipsas in Latin‐America

“…Despite these challenges, the pressure to modernise public administration and the idea that the unification of accounting practices is suitable for globalisation, continue to promote the inclusion of accrual and IPSASs in the public sector at international (Fuertes, ; Lapsley et al, ; Brusca et al, ) and has spread to Colombia and Peru.…”

“…Internationally, multilateral bodies have been the main promoters of harmonisation, seeking to set an example by applying the IPSASs to their own information systems (Benito et al, ; Fuertes, ; Grossi and Soverchia, ). Table lists the multilateral institutions and regional organisms that have adopted IPSASs.…”

Making Comparisons in Government Accounting

“…For art and heritage assets, Adam et al examine the accounting practices of two cities in Germany, Italy and the UK with significant art and heritage asset holdings. Despite the pressures towards international convergence on accounting practice (Fuertes, 2008), this study reveals the complexity of practice, with significant diversity of practice and evident tensions between the institutional environments of continental European accounting practice and the Anglo-Saxon world of accounting.…”

Knowledge, Policy and the Work of Governing

“…Geva- May (2002) highlights the impact of cultural bias on policy analysis and the importance of considering "culture" in order to understand negotiation and harmonization. Vogel (1986) points to distinct national "regulatory styles" Fuertes (2008) points out that the adoption of "international standards" is effectively "harmonization" around an Anglo model, and Brown and Dillard (this issue) explore more deeply the sort of questions that accounting raises and the sort of enquiry that it makes possible.…”