This research examines financial reporting by Scottish local authorities. Two particular aspects have been examined, namely audit lags and audit incidents. 65 local authorities were examined for the period 1989/90 until 1995/96. This period is classified as the pre-reorganisation period. Then the research continued by analysing audit lags and audit incidents for the 32 new postreorganisation local authorities for 1996/97 and 1997/98. The researcher used Luder's (1992) contingency model of public sector accounting innovations as a framework to analyse the stimuli for financial reporting changes in the Scottish local authorities. The effect of audit qualifications appears not to be a strong stimulus for the local authorities to improve financial reporting. The discussion on audit lags was divided into pre-reorganisation and postreorganisation periods. In addition, the ten local authorities in the Grampian and Tayside regional areas were studied for an additional 14 years. The results indicated that there was a persistent pattern among the local authorities in Scotland. The good performers were always good and the poor performers were always poor. Authorities like Angus DC managed to get an audit lag of around 4 months, while some local authorities took more than two years. Thus it is not impossible to get the accounts certified within four months. Audit incidents were classified into two categories, that is Audit Qualifications (AQ) and Comments Short of Audit Qualification (CSAQ). The performance among authorities varies tremendously. While some regional councils obtained very few audit incidents, some have many. Likewise some district councils have many and some have none. Islands appear to have more audit incidents. As proven by some authorities, getting a clean report is not impossible. Therefore it is important for local authorities to emphasise improving the audit lags and improving the quality of the accounts to obtain a clean report every year. Lengthy audit lag reflects inefficiency in management. This not only suggests weak internal control but also indicates that financial reporting is considered as a low priority task. Numerous audit incidents seem to signal that local authorities have not complied with all the rules and regulations. Repeated audit incidents imply that they were not serious in rectifying the situation. Reorganisation appears to disturb the ranking of the councils resulting in much longer audit lags in the last year of the abolished councils and the first two years after reorganisation. Thus, reorganisation contributes to longer audit lags and leads to numerous audit incidents, especially for 'limitation in audit scope'. Undoubtedly, Scottish local authorities should improve their financial reporting and their accountability to the public.

Financial reporting in the public sector is influenced by the private sector accounting standards. The Swiss Federal Government has recently started to prepare consolidated financial statements. The purpose of this study is to describe how the Swiss Federal Government is doing its consolidated financial statements. Theoretically there are different consolidation theories and methods. The choice of consolidation method can explain which consolidation theory is used when the financial statements are put together. The research is done on the latest consolidated financial statements, 2010, from the Swiss Federal Government and in combination with an interview with the Head of Consolidation of the Swiss Federal Government. The finding in this research is that the Swiss Federal Government has an Entity Theory approach when consolidating its financial statements.

Zugl.: Münster (Westfalen), Universiẗat, Diss., 2009.

Zugl.: Augsburg, Universiẗat, Diss.

Zugl.: Duisburg, Essen, Universiẗat, Diss., 2008.

Zugl.: Duisburg, Essen, Univ., Diss., 2008 / Zusätzliches Online-Angebot unter www.ESV.info/978 3 503 12426 8

La tesi analizza come i sistemi contabili possano contribuire alla creazione e allo sviluppo del valore pubblico e considera, nello specifico, tre prospettive: (i) il ruolo di alcuni meccanismi di governance e auditing nell’assicurare l’attendibilità dei dati di bilancio; (ii) gli effetti della trasparenza (e, in particolare, della comprensibilità delle informazioni contabili) sulla partecipazione dei cittadini; e (iii) gli impatti delle riforme contabili nella lotta alla corruzione. I risultati dimostrano che i sistemi contabili forniscono le modalità operative per comunicare, diffondere e sviluppare il valore pubblico. Alcune caratteristiche dei Collegi Sindacali sono risultate cruciali per assicurare l’attendibilità dei dati di bilancio, contribuendo così a rendere visibili alcuni aspetti del valore pubblico. Determinati attributi della trasparenza si sono dimostrati efficaci nel migliorare la comprensibilità delle informazioni contabili per i cittadini, sostenendone in questo modo la partecipazione. Da ultimo, le riforme contabili hanno generalmente avuto successo nella lotta alla corruzione. Tuttavia, da alcuni risultati è emerso che i sistemi contabili possono anche essere implicati in comportamenti non etici e volti alla distruzione del valore pubblico. / The thesis is aimed at investigating how accounting systems can contribute to the creation and development of public value. Three facets of public sector accounting research are explored, namely: (i) the role of governance and auditing arrangements in assuring the reliability of financial information; (ii) the effects of transparency (and, in particular, of the understandability of financial information) on democratic participation; and (iii) the impact(s) of accounting in the fight against corruption. Results show that accounting systems do provide the operational ways to communicate and develop public value. Specific auditors characteristics have proven to be crucial for assuring the reliability of financial information, thus contributing to making aspects of public value and its distribution in the society more visible. Certain transparency attributes were found to be effective in improving citizens’ understanding of governments’ financial performance, thus sustaining democratic participation. Finally, accounting-based anti-corruption reforms have largely been recognized as successful. However, drawing on a more critical point of view, accounting may also be implicated in unethical behaviors and in the destruction of public value.

Viešajame sektoriuje vykdomos reformos turi poveikį kiekvienam mokesčių mokėtojui, nes bendri reformų tikslai – taupyti valstybės išteklius, pagerinti žmonių gyvenimo kokybę. Vykdant reformas svarbu valstybės tarnautojų kvalifikacija įgyvendinti pokyčius, kitaip reformos gali neduoti laukiamų rezultatų. Valstybės tarnautojų kvalifikacijos kėlimo klausimus nagrinėja daugelis autorių, tačiau valstybės tarnautojų kvalifikacijos kėlimo ypatumai buhalterinės apskaitos ar panašaus pobūdžio reformoms vykdyti nėra nagrinėjami. Darbe keliama problema, kad nors teisės aktai nustato valstybės tarnautojams kvalifikacijos kėlimą, neaišku, kaip šiuos teisės aktus vykdydama reformą konkrečioje situacijoje pritaiko atskira įstaiga. Darbe iškelta hipotezė, kad valstybės tarnautojų kvalifikacijos kėlimo sistema nėra universali, todėl ją reikia pritaikyti kiekvienai reformai. Darbo objektas yra valstybės tarnautojų kvalifikacijos kėlimas viešojo sektoriaus apskaitos reformai vykdyti. Darbo tikslas – išnagrinėti valstybės tarnautojų kvalifikacijos kėlimo ypatumus viešojo sektoriaus apskaitos reformai vykdyti. Siekiant darbo tikslo iškelti uždaviniai: išanalizuoti valstybės tarnautojų kvalifikacijos kėlimą reglamentuojančius teisės aktus; susipažinti su vykdomos viešojo sektoriaus apskaitos reformos esme ir ypatumais; ištirti, kaip buvo keliama valstybės tarnautojų kvalifikacija šiai reformai įgyvendinti ir pasiūlyti, kaip tobulinti valstybės tarnautojų kvalifikacijos kėlimą panašaus pobūdžio... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Public sector reforms have an impact on every taxpayer because the overall reform objectives are to save state resources and to improve people's quality of life. It is important to improve the qualification of the civil servants to implement changes, in other reforms can not produce the desired results. The training of the civil servants is an issue for many authors, but the civil servants training characteristics of accounting and other similar reforms are not addressed. The work raises the problem that although the law provides for the civil servants qualification, it is unclear how this legislation with the reform in a given situation applies single institution. The hypothesis is – the training system of the civil servants is no panacea, and should be adapted to each reform. Object of the work is the training of the civil servants for the Public Sector Accounting Reform. The aim of the work – to examine the training of civil servants features of Public Sector Accounting Reform. In order to raise the goal the following tasks: to analyze the qualification of the civil servants legislation; to know about the essence and characteristics of the Public Sector Accounting Reform; to examine how the civil servants have been caused by the qualification that the implementation of reform and to suggest how to improve the qualification of the civil servants for similar reforms. The following methods were used in this work: collection, systematization, generalization, comparison... [to full text]

A presente pesquisa discute a legitimação da autoridade de normatização da contabilidade aplicada ao setor público para a Secretária do Tesouro Nacional (STN), a atuação dos Tribunais de Contas no processo de convergência às International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) e a preparação para a atuação com Auditoria Financeira em municípios. A convergência para normas internacionais de contabilidade levou ao questionamento da autoridade na regulação contábil aplicada ao setor público em meados de 2009, e passou a demandar a estruturação da função de Auditoria Financeira no nível sub-nacional, dada a necessidade de consolidação do Balanço do Setor Público Nacional (BSPN) e a expectativa de melhoria do grau de accountability. Procedeu-se análise documental e foram realizadas 25 entrevistas com atores chave. A resposta dos diversos Tribunais de Contas quanto ao processo de Auditoria Financeira tem sido incentivar a criação de Controles Internos nos municípios / This research discusses the legitimation of authority on accounting standardization applied to the public sector to the Treasury (STN), the role of Courts of Accounts in the process of convergence with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and the preparation for the acting with Financial Audit on municipalities. The convergence with international accounting standards led to the questioning of the authority on the accounting regulation applied to the public sector in mid-2009, and went on to demand the structuring of the Financial Audit function in the sub-national level, given the need to consolidate the Whole of Government Acounts (BSPN) and the expectation of improving the level of accountability. Proceeded to documental analysis and were carried out 25 interviews with key actors from the reform process. The response of the various Courts of Accounts on the financial audit process has been encouraging the creation of Internal Control in municipalities

In 1988 the New South Wales (NSW) Government was the first in Australia, and amongst the first in the world, to commit to implement accrual accounting for its General Government Sector. Subsequently, accrual accounting has been implemented by numerous governments, including all Australian governments. This thesis examines why the NSW Government decided to implement accrual accounting and the impact of this accounting change on decision making within a General Government Sector organisation. The historical account is derived from a combination of archival and oral data sources whilst an organisational learning theoretical frame is used in a single-site case study to understand the impact of accrual accounting on managerial decision making. The history of the NSW Government adoption of accrual accounting is characterised by five notable features. First, the whole-of-government initiative was implemented with remarkable speed. Second, the change was aided by the actions of an epistemic community, in which private sector consultants were most active. Third, the change was justified through expected improvements in accountability and management. Fourth, a period of resistance to the change was followed by an absence of critical discussion on the implications of the change as forces supportive of the change synergistically combined. Fifth, the change is explained by mimetic forces that initially coalesced around phantom images, presented by consultants, and subsequently recognised self-interest as an integral part of the change to accrual accounting. The impact of accrual accounting on management decision-making at an organisational level from has been mixed. Information acquisition has expanded in that new sets of accounting data are collected. However, information distribution has been unchanged by accrual accounting whilst information interpretation only marginally changed at a top management level with no discernible change at operational levels. Organisational memory has been altered by accrual accounting in that additional accounting skills and information are now held. However, use of that organisational memory is severely impeded by organisational objectives and constraints that effectively render accrual accounting information irrelevant to public sector managers’ concerns. Policy implications arising from this project are that an alternative model of accrual accounting is required together with the dual recognition that centrally imposed change may produce unpredicted change at an operational agency level and that accounting change needs to be matched to organisational characteristics. Additionally, improvements in asset management, as sought by advocates of accrual accounting, could have been delivered by non-accounting means and there is little prospect for improved managerial decision-making from the current model of accrual accounting. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1375063 / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, Business School, 2009