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

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

As mudanças na contabilidade aplicada ao setor público no Brasil, a partir da edição da Portaria n. 184, de 25 de agosto de 2008, têm ocupado grande espaço nas discussões, tanto no meio acadêmico quanto nas atividades dos órgãos e entidades responsáveis pela contabilidade. Tais mudanças, pela perspectiva das entidades a que se aplicam e observadas por meio dos pressupostos da teoria institucional e da teoria da dependência de recursos, podem ser abordadas como mudanças institucionais demandadas pelo ambiente externo organizacional. Oliver (1991) propõe um modelo com base em ambas as teorias supramencionadas para identificação da resposta estratégica de uma organização em decorrência das pressões ou regras institucionais que variam de conformidade à alta resistência, a saber: (i) aquiescer, (ii) negociar, (iii) esquivar, (iv) desafiar e (v) manipular. Nessa perspectiva, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo geral compreender as respostas estratégicas de estados brasileiros às mudanças institucionais baseadas na adoção das normas brasileiras de contabilidade oriundas do processo de convergência às International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), sob a perspectiva da teoria institucional e da dependência de recursos. Utilizou-se a estratégia de pesquisa de estudo de casos múltiplos para identificar a resposta estratégica dos entes analisados em relação às mudanças institucionais, abordadas por meio dos 10 fatores preditivos de Oliver (1991) agrupados em cinco fatores institucionais, quais sejam: (i) causa: legitimação e eficiência; (ii) agente: multiplicidade e dependência; (iii) conteúdo: consistência e restrição; (iv) controle: coerção e difusão; e (v) contexto: incerteza e interconectividade. Assim sendo, as unidades de análise estudadas correspondem aos poderes executivos dos estados de São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro e Minas Gerais e as evidências foram obtidas mediante entrevistas, tanto com respondentes que atuam em tais entes estaduais como entrevistados externos aos estados, e documentos. Verificou-se, por meio da triangulação dos dados, que os três estados apresentam a aquiescência como resposta estratégica às mudanças institucionais baseadas na adoção das normas brasileiras de contabilidade oriundas do processo de convergência às IPSAS. Porém, constatou-se que, enquanto no estado de São Paulo cinco variáveis, entre as 10 utilizadas, indicaram a probabilidade de aquiescer, seis variáveis apontaram evidências referentes a tal resposta para o estado do Rio de Janeiro e sete para Minas Gerais. Concluiu-se, dessa maneira, que, apesar de os três entes estaduais apresentarem a mesma resposta estratégica, há maior probabilidade de resistência no estado de São Paulo, seguida pelo estado do Rio de Janeiro e, na sequência, por Minas Gerais, sendo que tais diferenças entre os entes estão atreladas às variáveis multiplicidade e consistência. Acredita-se que os apontamentos realizados na presente pesquisa sejam relevantes para compreensão dos fatores críticos que aumentam a probabilidade de conformidade ou de resistência às mudanças institucionais baseadas na adoção das normas brasileiras de contabilidade oriundas do processo de convergência às IPSAS. / The changes in public sector accounting in Brazil, since the publication of the MF Order N. 184, of 25 August 2008, have been taking a large agenda with discussions both in the academic environment and in the activities of the entities responsible for accounting. Such changes, from the perspective of applied entities and observed through the assumptions of institutional theory and resource dependence theory, can be approached as institutional changes or processes demanded by the external pressures. Oliver (1991) proposes a model based on both of the aforementioned theories to identify the strategic response of an organization as a result of external pressures or rules that vary from compliance to high resistance, namely: (i) acquiescence, (ii) compromise, (iii) avoidance, (iv) defiance, and (v) manipulation. In this perspective, the present research had as general purpose to understand the strategic responses of Brazilian states to institutional changes based on the adoption of Brazilian accounting standards from the convergence process to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), from the institutional and resource dependence perspective. The multiple case study research strategy was used to identify the strategic response of the entities addressed in relation to institutional changes and were addressed through Oliver\'s 10 predictors factors, grouped into five institutional factors: (i) cause: legitimacy and efficiency; (ii) constituents: multiplicity and dependence; (iii) content: consistency and constraint; (iv) control: coercion and diffusion; and (v) context: uncertainty and interconnectedness. Thus, the analyzed units correspond of the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais, on the executive sphere, and the evidence was obtained through documents and interviews with respondents who work in such state entities and respondents from outside the states. It was verified through the triangulation of data that the three states present acquiescence as a strategic response to the institutional changes based on the adoption of Brazilian accounting standards from convergence process to IPSAS. However, it was found that while in the state of São Paulo five variables, among the 10 used, indicated the probability of acquiesce, six variables indicated evidence regarding this response to the state of Rio de Janeiro and seven to the state of Minas Gerais. It was concluded, then, although the three state entities present the same strategic response, there is a greater probability of resistance in the state of São Paulo, followed by the state of Rio de Janeiro and, subsequently, the state of Minas Gerais. Such differences between the entities are tied to the multiplicity and consistency variables. It is believed that the notes made in the present study are relevant to the understanding of the critical factors that increase the likelihood of compliance or resistance to institutional changes based on the adoption of Brazilian accounting standards from convergence process to IPSAS.

A pesquisa analisou o grau de imprecisão orçamentária dos municípios brasileiros, e sugeriu fatores que estariam associados à imprecisão. A importância da análise da precisão do orçamento é reconhecida por organismos internacionais como o Banco Mundial e OCDE, que têm desenvolvido mecanismos de acompanhamento da qualidade do orçamento público. O orçamento público é o instrumento de estimação e alocação de recursos em ações que foram priorizadas pelos agentes da administração pública para concretizar sua plataforma de governo proposta na campanha. Assim, o orçamento sinaliza aos cidadãos as políticas públicas propostas na campanha, assim como as ações específicas que que serão futuramente executadas. Além disso, o orçamento fornece importantes informações sobre o nível de endividamento e a proporção de investimentos do município. A imprecisão na estimação de receitas e despesas no orçamento distorce a alocação planejada colocando em risco a execução do plano, e também reduz a capacidade do próprio governo em planejar as suas ações. A falta de incentivos para buscar a precisão, dada a baixa cobrança pelos órgãos de controle externo e pelos mecanismos de controle social, pode levar a erros e à baixa atenção ao processo orçamentário nos municípios. A literatura anterior têm concentrado esforços em estudar a transparência, a participação popular e técnicas de previsão das receitas, mas pouco tem tratado o processo de alocação de recursos. Os resultados da pesquisa mostram que (i) o controle legislativo tem alguma associação com a diminuição da imprecisão do orçamento em municípios nos quais o Prefeito não tem a maioria da Câmara; (ii) o controle externo não possui relação com a imprecisão. / The research examined the degree of budget inaccuracy of Brazilian municipalities, and suggested factors associated to vagueness. The importance of analyzing the budget accuracy is recognized by international bodies such as the World Bank and OECD, who have developed mechanisms to monitor the quality of the public budget. The public budget is the instrument of estimation and resource allocation in stocks that have been prioritized by the agents of public administration to implement their platform of government proposed in the campaign. Thus, the budget signals to citizens the public policies proposed in the campaign, as well as the specific actions that will be implemented in the future. In addition, the budget provides important information about the level of debt and the proportion of investments of the municipality. The imprecision in estimating revenues and expenses in the budget distorts the allocation planned endangering the implementation of the plan, and also reduces the government\'s ability to plan their own actions. The lack of incentives to seek accuracy, given the low charge by external control bodies and the mechanisms of social control, can lead to errors and low attention to the budgetary process in the municipalities. The previous literature has focused efforts on studying transparency, popular participation and revenue forecasting techniques, but little has handled the process of resource allocation. The survey results show that (i) the legislative control has some association with the decrease in the budget inaccuracy in municipalities where the mayor does not have the majority of the Board; (ii) external control has no relationship with the inaccuracy.

As mudanças na contabilidade aplicada ao setor público no Brasil, a partir da edição da Portaria n. 184, de 25 de agosto de 2008, têm ocupado grande espaço nas discussões, tanto no meio acadêmico quanto nas atividades dos órgãos e entidades responsáveis pela contabilidade. Tais mudanças, pela perspectiva das entidades a que se aplicam e observadas por meio dos pressupostos da teoria institucional e da teoria da dependência de recursos, podem ser abordadas como mudanças institucionais demandadas pelo ambiente externo organizacional. Oliver (1991) propõe um modelo com base em ambas as teorias supramencionadas para identificação da resposta estratégica de uma organização em decorrência das pressões ou regras institucionais que variam de conformidade à alta resistência, a saber: (i) aquiescer, (ii) negociar, (iii) esquivar, (iv) desafiar e (v) manipular. Nessa perspectiva, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo geral compreender as respostas estratégicas de estados brasileiros às mudanças institucionais baseadas na adoção das normas brasileiras de contabilidade oriundas do processo de convergência às International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), sob a perspectiva da teoria institucional e da dependência de recursos. Utilizou-se a estratégia de pesquisa de estudo de casos múltiplos para identificar a resposta estratégica dos entes analisados em relação às mudanças institucionais, abordadas por meio dos 10 fatores preditivos de Oliver (1991) agrupados em cinco fatores institucionais, quais sejam: (i) causa: legitimação e eficiência; (ii) agente: multiplicidade e dependência; (iii) conteúdo: consistência e restrição; (iv) controle: coerção e difusão; e (v) contexto: incerteza e interconectividade. Assim sendo, as unidades de análise estudadas correspondem aos poderes executivos dos estados de São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro e Minas Gerais e as evidências foram obtidas mediante entrevistas, tanto com respondentes que atuam em tais entes estaduais como entrevistados externos aos estados, e documentos. Verificou-se, por meio da triangulação dos dados, que os três estados apresentam a aquiescência como resposta estratégica às mudanças institucionais baseadas na adoção das normas brasileiras de contabilidade oriundas do processo de convergência às IPSAS. Porém, constatou-se que, enquanto no estado de São Paulo cinco variáveis, entre as 10 utilizadas, indicaram a probabilidade de aquiescer, seis variáveis apontaram evidências referentes a tal resposta para o estado do Rio de Janeiro e sete para Minas Gerais. Concluiu-se, dessa maneira, que, apesar de os três entes estaduais apresentarem a mesma resposta estratégica, há maior probabilidade de resistência no estado de São Paulo, seguida pelo estado do Rio de Janeiro e, na sequência, por Minas Gerais, sendo que tais diferenças entre os entes estão atreladas às variáveis multiplicidade e consistência. Acredita-se que os apontamentos realizados na presente pesquisa sejam relevantes para compreensão dos fatores críticos que aumentam a probabilidade de conformidade ou de resistência às mudanças institucionais baseadas na adoção das normas brasileiras de contabilidade oriundas do processo de convergência às IPSAS. / The changes in public sector accounting in Brazil, since the publication of the MF Order N. 184, of 25 August 2008, have been taking a large agenda with discussions both in the academic environment and in the activities of the entities responsible for accounting. Such changes, from the perspective of applied entities and observed through the assumptions of institutional theory and resource dependence theory, can be approached as institutional changes or processes demanded by the external pressures. Oliver (1991) proposes a model based on both of the aforementioned theories to identify the strategic response of an organization as a result of external pressures or rules that vary from compliance to high resistance, namely: (i) acquiescence, (ii) compromise, (iii) avoidance, (iv) defiance, and (v) manipulation. In this perspective, the present research had as general purpose to understand the strategic responses of Brazilian states to institutional changes based on the adoption of Brazilian accounting standards from the convergence process to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), from the institutional and resource dependence perspective. The multiple case study research strategy was used to identify the strategic response of the entities addressed in relation to institutional changes and were addressed through Oliver\'s 10 predictors factors, grouped into five institutional factors: (i) cause: legitimacy and efficiency; (ii) constituents: multiplicity and dependence; (iii) content: consistency and constraint; (iv) control: coercion and diffusion; and (v) context: uncertainty and interconnectedness. Thus, the analyzed units correspond of the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais, on the executive sphere, and the evidence was obtained through documents and interviews with respondents who work in such state entities and respondents from outside the states. It was verified through the triangulation of data that the three states present acquiescence as a strategic response to the institutional changes based on the adoption of Brazilian accounting standards from convergence process to IPSAS. However, it was found that while in the state of São Paulo five variables, among the 10 used, indicated the probability of acquiesce, six variables indicated evidence regarding this response to the state of Rio de Janeiro and seven to the state of Minas Gerais. It was concluded, then, although the three state entities present the same strategic response, there is a greater probability of resistance in the state of São Paulo, followed by the state of Rio de Janeiro and, subsequently, the state of Minas Gerais. Such differences between the entities are tied to the multiplicity and consistency variables. It is believed that the notes made in the present study are relevant to the understanding of the critical factors that increase the likelihood of compliance or resistance to institutional changes based on the adoption of Brazilian accounting standards from convergence process to IPSAS.

A pesquisa analisou o grau de imprecisão orçamentária dos municípios brasileiros, e sugeriu fatores que estariam associados à imprecisão. A importância da análise da precisão do orçamento é reconhecida por organismos internacionais como o Banco Mundial e OCDE, que têm desenvolvido mecanismos de acompanhamento da qualidade do orçamento público. O orçamento público é o instrumento de estimação e alocação de recursos em ações que foram priorizadas pelos agentes da administração pública para concretizar sua plataforma de governo proposta na campanha. Assim, o orçamento sinaliza aos cidadãos as políticas públicas propostas na campanha, assim como as ações específicas que que serão futuramente executadas. Além disso, o orçamento fornece importantes informações sobre o nível de endividamento e a proporção de investimentos do município. A imprecisão na estimação de receitas e despesas no orçamento distorce a alocação planejada colocando em risco a execução do plano, e também reduz a capacidade do próprio governo em planejar as suas ações. A falta de incentivos para buscar a precisão, dada a baixa cobrança pelos órgãos de controle externo e pelos mecanismos de controle social, pode levar a erros e à baixa atenção ao processo orçamentário nos municípios. A literatura anterior têm concentrado esforços em estudar a transparência, a participação popular e técnicas de previsão das receitas, mas pouco tem tratado o processo de alocação de recursos. Os resultados da pesquisa mostram que (i) o controle legislativo tem alguma associação com a diminuição da imprecisão do orçamento em municípios nos quais o Prefeito não tem a maioria da Câmara; (ii) o controle externo não possui relação com a imprecisão. / The research examined the degree of budget inaccuracy of Brazilian municipalities, and suggested factors associated to vagueness. The importance of analyzing the budget accuracy is recognized by international bodies such as the World Bank and OECD, who have developed mechanisms to monitor the quality of the public budget. The public budget is the instrument of estimation and resource allocation in stocks that have been prioritized by the agents of public administration to implement their platform of government proposed in the campaign. Thus, the budget signals to citizens the public policies proposed in the campaign, as well as the specific actions that will be implemented in the future. In addition, the budget provides important information about the level of debt and the proportion of investments of the municipality. The imprecision in estimating revenues and expenses in the budget distorts the allocation planned endangering the implementation of the plan, and also reduces the government\'s ability to plan their own actions. The lack of incentives to seek accuracy, given the low charge by external control bodies and the mechanisms of social control, can lead to errors and low attention to the budgetary process in the municipalities. The previous literature has focused efforts on studying transparency, popular participation and revenue forecasting techniques, but little has handled the process of resource allocation. The survey results show that (i) the legislative control has some association with the decrease in the budget inaccuracy in municipalities where the mayor does not have the majority of the Board; (ii) external control has no relationship with the inaccuracy.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-29T11:13:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_6826_Dissertação Abner20131107-175625.pdf: 1868462 bytes, checksum: 7f6dccb8cacd698cc8ae776a912e41f0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-09-06 / Buscou-se neste estudo investigar como o processo de consulta pública pode influenciar no delineamento das Normas Internacionais de Contabilidade Pública (IPSASs), emitidas pela IFAC. Neste sentido, identificou-se a participação de variados agentes mundiais, além de se verificar a relação entre as características das sugestões enviadas e sua aceitação pelo órgão responsável. Esta pesquisa teve como base teórica e conceitual a Teoria Tridimensional do Direito, desenvolvida por Miguel Reale, onde fato, valor e norma estão presentes e se relacionam de forma constante, dialética e complementar, ao longo do processo normativo e no caso em tela, a normatização contábil. Os fatos representam situações presentes no contexto de cada participante e que são, por seu turno, orientadas, dentre outros fatores, por ideologias e princípios, que são os valores. Já a norma é fruto da relação entre fatos e valores e é aqui representada pelas IPSASs. Como abordagem metodológica utilizou-se a pesquisa documental, a análise de conteúdo e análise quantitativa, por meio do teste Qui-quadrado e da interpretação dos resíduos padronizados. Da amostra composta por 123 cartas, foram identificadas 59 agentes de diversos países, sendo, destes, 76% não pertencentes ao corpo de membros da IFAC. Ainda, as instituições foram distribuídas em 7 diferentes classes, como órgãos profissionais, organismos regionais de normalização, órgãos governamentais, dentre outras. Sobre o nível de aceitação das contribuições enviadas, contou-se 926 sugestões e destas, 322 de alguma forma foram consideradas pela IFAC. Ademais, notou-se a expressiva participação da Oceania com 29,5% do total de contribuições e a participação do Accounting Standards Board (África do Sul) e dos australianos Heads of Treasuries Accounting and Reporting Advisory Committee (HoTARAC) e Australian Accounting Standards Board, sendo ambas as instituições que mais forneceram contribuições. Além disto, pela abordagem quantitativa foram achadas evidências de maior associação entre as sugestões de não membros e aceitação pela IFAC. Também foi verificada uma forte ligação entre o acatamento e as contribuições do tipo Forma. Ainda, para a totalidade da amostra, não foi comprovada a dependência entre o nível de aceitação e o fato dos itens serem ou não convergentes às normas emitidas pelo IASB. Entretanto, nos testes para cada pronunciamento foram encontradas, em alguns casos, evidências de associação para ambas as situações: aproximação e distanciamento das normas privadas, de acordo com a sub amostra analisada. / It was sought in this study to investigate how the public consultation process can influence the delimitation of the International Public Accounting Standards (IPSAS) issued by IFAC. Thus, it was possible to identify the participation of several worldwide agents, in addition to verify the link between the characteristics of suggestions submitted and its acceptance by the responsible agency. This research was based on theoretical conceptual the Tridimensional Theory of Law, developed by Miguel Reale, wherein fact, value and norm are present and are related consistently, dialectical and complementary throughout the regulatory process, in the case in question, the accounting standardization. The facts represent present situations in the context of each participant, which are, in its turn, oriented, among other factors, by ideologies and principles, which are the values. Already the norm is the result of the relation between facts and values and is represented here by the IPSAS. As a methodological approach, resorted to documental research, to the content analysis and to the quantitative analysis through the Chi-square test and the interpretation of standardized residuals. From the sample, composed by suggestions made in 123 letters, was identified 59 agents from many countries, and 76% were not owned by the IFAC members. Also, the institutions occurred in seven different grades, such as professional institutions, regional standardization bodies, government agencies. On the acceptance level of the submitted contributions, were counted 926 suggestions, of which 322 somehow, the IFAC held. Moreover, there was an expressive participation from Oceania with 29.5% of the contributions total and participation of the Accounting Standards Board (South Africa) and the Australian Heads of Treasuries Accounting and Reporting Advisory Committee (HoTARAC) and Australian Accounting Standards Board, and both institutions that most delivered contributions. Additionally, the quantitative approach, succeeded evidence of a greater association between the suggestions of non-members and acceptance by the IFAC. There was also a strong link between compliance and the contributions of type Form. Still, for the entire sample, there was no evidence of dependence between the level of acceptance and the fact that the items whether they are converging standards issued by the IASB. However, the tests for each statement occurred, in some cases, evidence of association for both situations: approach and distancing of private standards, according to the sub-sample analyzed.

Denna studie behandlar förekomsten av resultatstyrning i svenska kommuner. Tidigare forskning visar på att styrning främst tar form av periodiseringar samt att de främsta förklarande faktorerna för förekomsten är ekonomi, politik och tjänstemän. Existerande teori menar på att övergången från kassabaserad redovisning till bokföringsmässiga grunder underlättade resultatstyrning och att det förekommer både i kommuner och företag i Sverige.Undersökningen syftar till att förklara förekomsten av resultatstyrning i kommuner med hjälp av posten “bidrag till statlig infrastruktur”. I analysen ifrågasätts användandet av resultatstyrning, vilka incitament som finns samt hur dess incitament påverkar beslutprocessen.Studien är en dokumentstudie och har genomförts som en kvantitativ analys. Det empiriska materialet har främst samlats in från kommuners årsredovisningar. Flera statistiska analyser genomförs och leder fram till studiens resultat. Resultaten visar på att resultatstyrning förekommer i kommuner och att det främst är kortsiktiga incitament som styr besluten. Tiden som kommuner väljer att periodisera bidragen på beror främst på hur stora beloppen på bidragen som lämnas är samt om kommunen har mottagit stora engångsbelopp i form av till exempel AFA-försäkringar, AFA-premier eller konjunkturstöd från staten de åren eller inte. / This thesis is an analysis of the occurrence of earnings management in Swedish municipalities. Previous theory claims that the change from cash accounting to accrual accounting has made it easier to involve in earnings management actions and that these actions are broadly used in both municipalities and corporate companies. Similar studies proves economy, politics and civil servants to be explanatory for why earnings management takes place in municipalities.We seek to explain this occurrence by using the accounting record contribution to national infrastructure. The aim is to answer what the main incentives are for manipulating the results in municipalities and how these incentives affect the decision making progress.This is mainly a documentary study that focuses on the public financial reports of municipalities. A statistical analysis is performed and conclusions are drawn. We find evidence that earnings management exist in municipalities and that the biggest explaining factor of how the contribution is accounted for depend on the size of the contribution to infrastructure and if the municipality has received any big amounts from the government in form of AFA-insurances, AFA-premier or cyclical support that year or not. This indicates a short-term thinking with high focus on net income. This study is hereafter written in Swedish.

Shaoul et al. (2012) state that the accounting, scrutiny and oversight of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) remain areas of concern. Also, there have been calls for a more socio-technical and multidisciplinary approach to accounting and governance studies (Broadbent, 2012; Broadbent and Guthrie 2008), especially in relation to the empirical study of PPPs (Hodge et al., 2010). This thesis responds to these calls in part by drawing on Giddens’ structuration theory to examine the financial accountability and governance concerns that are created in PPP joint venture structures. The empirical work focuses on the health sector, which is identified as one of the sectors inundated by PPP activities, particularly in the UK (Treasury, 2012; Whitfield, 2010). It adopts a case study approach, based on qualitative methodology, which involves documentary analysis of secondary data and interviews in relation to two PPP schemes under the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) scheme in the UK’s health sector.The thesis investigates: the extent to which the corporate structures of the LIFT scheme do complicate financial accountability and governance including external scrutiny; the extent to which the LIFT scheme does enhance partnership working between the public and private sector partners; the structures in financial accountability and governance in the LIFT scheme; the human agents that provide agency in financial accountability and governance in the LIFT scheme and; whether and in what ways structures and human agency in financial accountability and governance interact in the LIFT scheme and what the implications are.The thesis finds firstly that the complex corporate structure of the LIFT scheme is very complicated and the joint venture mechanism cannot be relied upon to deliver transparency of reporting. Secondly, as limited companies, all financial reporting follows private sector accounting regulations and Company Law and there is minimal disclosure in terms of information available to the general public. This is worsened by lack of information sharing between partners as evidenced in one case study group. Thirdly, there was considerable inconsistency in the reporting due to multiplicity of interpretive schemas between the two case study groups. Fourthly, there was considerable change in the reporting due both to changes in accounting regulations and changes in organisational structure and interpretive schemas throughout the period. Fifthly, there is lack of continuity of public sector oversight and monitoring as the public sector, in practice, restricts its activities to pre-operational phase and limited oversight after construction phases. Moreover, partnership working is very difficult in the context of profit seeking under the LIFT structure. Partnership working and success of the LIFT scheme may depend on trust, key personalities working together as well as leadership. From the structuration perspective, the study finds structural contradictions and conflicts of interests in financial accountability and governance practices. Therefore, transparency, public accountability, oversight and scrutiny are necessarily undermined and, policy makers should pay attention to not only the private sector technologies but also the manner in which they are used to benefit finance capital.

The aim of this work is to introduce the issue of the public sector. Work explains principles and funding of public sector but the main attention is focused on its accounting. Accounting of public sector is viewed from the perspective of czech legislation and International Accounting Public Sector Standards (IPSAS). The last mentioned one is dealing only with the selected standards which shows the specifics of public sector. It includes for example revenue from non-exchange transactions, impairment of non-cash-generating assets and financial statements of public sector entities.