As change sweeps across the public sector, a huge range of accounting and financial management challenges are created. This textbook analyses the reforms that are being introduced to deal with these challenges and their global impact on the public sector. Readers are provided with an international overview of government accounting, reporting, management control, cost accounting, budgeting and auditing. In explaining how innovative financial management tools are utilized in the public sector, the authors address a number of emerging issues: Harmonization trends in public financial management and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) Financial reporting and consolidated financial statements in the public sector Public sector management accounting and control methods Financial and performance auditing in the public sector This concise and accessible textbook will be core reading for public sector accounting and financial management students and will also be required reading for students of public management and administration more generally. Managers, accountants, consultants and auditors working in the public sector will also find the book a useful reference.

Providing a comprehensive account which brings a wide range of countries to the forefront in terms of both comparability and accountability, this study shines a light on the differences in accounting systems between states, and fills a gap in the literature by combining these aspects of public sector accounting and auditing within a single book.

This book presents an extensive set of applied material dealing with financial and management accounting practice in the public sector. It is designed to be used in conjunction with one or more of the established texts on the concepts and principles of public sector accounting. The authors present fourteen original case studies of financial and management accounting practice across a range of public sector organizations. The cases are grouped by type of organization because many of them deal with a number of reporting and measurement themes and issues, for example, principles and methods of financial accounting, issues of management control and financial management, and accountability to multiple stakeholders. All the case studies contain accounting information extracted from published financial statements or internal management records. The book includes short cases, where students are expected to collect additional information themselves, as well as longer, more detailed cases which are intended to encourage students to sift through the data for the relevant facts. Each case concludes with discussion questions. Detailed notes for discussion on the end-of-case questions are given in the Guidance Notes for Lecturers - available free of charge for those adopting this book for course use.

Public Sector Accounting uses an integrated approach to the study of public sector accounting by linking accounting theory and practice for each of the main areas of financial accounting, management accounting and auditing. Examples from a range of Public Sector experiences are woven into the text to illustrate the issues involved. The introduction of the book reflects managerial developments in the public sector, by giving a brief history of these in the UK and internationally then commenting on the adoption of quality assurance in the public sector. The management accounting section discusses developments in the use of internal markets and compulsory competition and the more recent emphasis on public-private partnership and performance indicators and also explains the techniques of programme and zero-based budgeting and investment appraisal. The financial accounting section updates and internationalises the discussion of financial accounting theory and regulation. The final section of the book is on auditing has been updated with UK and international developments.

A resource for administrators seeking innovative ideas and supporting precedents in formulating policy, this book also provides a useful textbook for public administration and policy students. It employs a wealth of case studies in budgeting and financial management to demonstrate strategies in system implementation, policy formulation, government accounting, auditing, and financial reporting. With contributions from leading experts, it clarifies procedures to solve cutback and downsizing dilemmas using theoretical models, and provides pragmatic approaches to managing financial activities under budgetary strain. It also covers the evolution of a debt management policy.

In recent years there have been a number of significant reforms in local government accounting practices around the world. While the specific reasons for these changes vary, a common factor is the increasing need for governments to measure the efficacy and efficiency of their performance. Nowhere is this trend more apparent than at the local government level. This book aims to give a comparative international perspective on local government accounting innovations, and offers specific cases involving different economic, political and cultural conditions. Countries receiving extended treatment include Belgium, China, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Together, the essays offer a state-of-the-art take on these issues and identify key issues for future research.

Funded by taxation, public spending cannot be separated from politics and ensuring efficiency and effectiveness is always high on the political and policy agenda. Accounting, accountability, governance and auditing are essential ingredients in evaluating public sector performance. Australia and New Zealand are world leaders when it comes to public sector accounting—such as being the first to introduce transaction-neutral accounting standards. This edited collection considers current issues impacting the public sector by primarily drawing upon experiences of Australia and New Zealand. Then, by combining history (from the time of the Domesday book, early sovereignty and Shakespeare) with current practice (differential reporting, international financial reporting standards, government performance, voter turnout, joined-up government and auditing practices), we use these experiences to illuminate the global issues of public sector accounting, accountability and governance. Based on rigorous research by top public sector researchers, this edited collection offers a multitude of future research ideas to enable those interested in following this pathway—whether they are in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States of America, Africa or anywhere else in the world—an avenue to traverse.

This technical note and manual (TNM) explains what accrual accounting means for the public sector and discusses current trends in moving from cash to accrual accounting. It outlines factors governments should consider in preparing for the move and sequencing of the transition. The note recognizes that governments considering accounting reforms will have different starting points across the public sector, different objectives, and varying coverage of the existing financial statements, it therefore recommends that governments consider each of these, and the materiality of stocks, flows and entities outside of government accounts when planning reforms and design the sequencing and stages involved accordingly. Building on international experiences, the note proposes four possible phases for progressively increasing the financial operations reported in the balance sheet and operating statement, with the ultimate aim of including all institutional units under the effective control of government in fiscal reports.