Professor Hassan Ouda | German University in Cairo (original) (raw)

Professor Hassan Ouda

Short Bio.
Prof. Dr. Hassan A. G. Ouda

Hassan Ouda is a professor of Accounting at German University in Cairo (GUC). Prof. Ouda is an International Expert in public/Government sector accounting and budgeting reform and has many years of advising the governmental organizations through the managerial and technical changes required to achieve greater value, accountability, transparency and performance. In March 14, 2013 he is appointed as one of the seven highly qualified members of International Accounting Standards Committee of the International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management-USA. This committee is responsible for reviewing and evaluation of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). In June 6, 2015 he is appointed as a board member of CIGAR (International Comparative Government Accounting Research).

Prof. Ouda developed (2001 and 2004) the Basic Requirements Model (BRM) for successful implementation of accrual accounting in the public sector. The BRM has been used by the United Nations in 2005 in order to determine the Key Success Factors of the adoption of full accrual accounting in United Nations Organizations. In addition, the BRM has also been used by France, Spain, The Netherlands, Korea, Brazil, and Romania.
He also developed in 2006 a reform proposal for the whole government sector of the Sultanate of Oman. Furthermore, he developed in 2007 a proposal for establishing the International institute for Government Sector Reform. This proposal has been submitted to the World Bank, the Algerian Government and Egyptian Government.

In addition, he developed in 2008 A Generic Model for Government Sector Reform. This model has been used by Korea and published in the International Journal on Government Financial Management (IJGFM), USA.

In 2010, he developed, A Prescriptive Model for Successful Transition to Accrual Accounting in Central Government. This model has been used by IFAC (International Federation of Accountants-USA) and published in the International Journal on Governmental Financial Management (IJGFM), Vol. VIII, No 2, 2010, the International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM), Virginia- USA.
In addition, he proposed a Framework for Implementation of Performance Budgeting in the Public Sector of Developing Countries” and Tackled the Main Technical Issues of the Implementation of Performance and Accrual Budgeting.

Prof. Ouda has participated in many international conferences, expert group meeting, Consulting and seminars in this field (Countries: Holland, Spain, Egypt, Norway, United Nations-ESCWA Lebanon, France, Estonia, Sultanate of Oman, United Arab of Emirates-Dubai, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Yemen, Belgium, Indonesia. United Kingdom, and Malta).

He published more than 77 articles in the international journals, book chapters in International books and papers in the proceedings of international conferences: which are related to Public Sector Accounting and Budgeting Reform (especially Implementation of Accrual Accounting and Performance based-Budgeting

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Papers by Professor Hassan Ouda

The experience of earlier reformer countries has indicated that many users (especially, politicia... more The experience of earlier reformer countries has indicated that many users (especially, politicians) do not use the improved accounting information that resulting from revamping the public sector accounting, as they claim that this information is not practice-relevant information. The purpose of this paper is to explore a method for insight generation of practice-relevant public sector accrual accounting and financial reporting system. This method uses a Practiceoriented Co-design Approach aiming at conceptualizing a dynamic model for designing accrual accounting and financial reporting system that can produce the practice-relevant financial information which takes into account the diverging needs of different stakeholders and can be used and appreciated by politicians and other users. The practice-oriented co-design approach is considered important because designing an accounting system without a clear focus on the user context and creating a channel for communication among account...

Practice-Relevant Accrual Accounting for the Public Sector, 2020

Based on the New Public Management practices, public sector entities are required to attribute ec... more Based on the New Public Management practices, public sector entities are required to attribute economic values to the governmental capital assets including the heritage and defense assets, and produce annual financial statements prepared on an equivalent basis to corporate model. The argument of attributing the economic values to the governmental capital assets raises the question of whether it is appropriate to view all the governmental capital assets through a similar lens. Most of the heritage assets and defense assets are not used to generate revenue for the government but they are operated to provide cultural, social and national security benefits to the country. This chapter has attempted to provide a practical solution for the remained unresolved issue in the past three decades through developing a Practice-Relevant Holistic Accounting Approach for governmental capital assets.

Practice-Relevant Accrual Accounting for the Public Sector, 2020

Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, 2016

Many governments of developed countries have reformed their public administration system in the l... more Many governments of developed countries have reformed their public administration system in the last three decades. This administrative reform is characterized by managerial freedom, market driven competition, businesslike service delivery, value for money, result-based performance, client orientation, and a pro-market culture. These aspects of the administrative reform have been described collectively as new public management (NPM) (Hood 1991). The NPM culture centered itself on increasing the individual responsibility, giving the managers extensive discretion in the use of resources, on output instead of input and on measuring the performance in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. The move toward the NPM has resulted in making parallel reforms in public financial management, as the NPM initiatives have had a substantial impact on public sector accounting and resulted in changing the accountability concept: from accountability in terms of procedural compliance to accountability in terms of efficiency and results (effectiveness and cost-effectiveness). Accountability for results depends on clear objectives stated in measurable terms and on budgets showing the minimum results to be achieved. This must be also based on expenditure limits and on accounting and auditing systems that measure and report on actual results. Of course, this raises the desirability of the public financial management reform (hereafter PFMR). see the chapter.

Corporate Ownership and Control, 2017

Our paper aims to examine the impact of an “objective” measure for the quality of transparency an... more Our paper aims to examine the impact of an “objective” measure for the quality of transparency and disclosure practice that is extracted from the Egyptian corporate governance guidelines on the performance of a selected sample of 85 Egyptian listed companies. We use mixed methods (i.e. content analysis, regression analysis, questionnaires and interviews) to test the relationship between the transparency and disclosure index and corporate performance for the period 2006-2010. We found no significant relationship between transparency and disclosure practice and corporate performance. Our results suggest that governance mechanisms such as transparency and disclosure practices are considered to be just ink on paper without any actual value added adopting corporate governance in Egypt.

Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 2016

Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing... more Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.

Corporate Ownership and Control, 2018

This study contributes to the debate on what constitutes “good governance in the heritage sector”... more This study contributes to the debate on what constitutes “good governance in the heritage sector” by identifying and testing measurable determinants for good governance (GG) of heritage management (HM), with special attention to financial management and accountability. The deductive approach is used to discern the determinants, while Lawshe (1975) method is used to quantify the results of the content validity. The checklist applicability is investigated, by comparing the appropriated determinants to the practices of the pioneer countries mainly, England and Australia. The compliance of Egypt with GG of HM is assessed to identify the variation in GG of HM between developed and less-developed countries. The results of which reveal much deficiencies and flaws in Egypt’s heritage governance and management and the urgent need for reform.

The last 25 years have witnessed waves of reform (reform initiatives) that swept the government s... more The last 25 years have witnessed waves of reform (reform initiatives) that swept the government sector as a whole at the mid 1980’s. These initiatives in the framework of the New Public Management (NPM) are encouraging the implementation of the private sector management techniques in the public sector, as well as the development of performance audits in order to monitor the degree of efficiency and effectiveness with which the public sector services are delivered and to evaluate the financial consequences of management decisions (Lapsley, 1999). Moreover, these initiatives have had a substantial impact on public sector accounting, where accounting as an information system plays an essential role in whatever reform process any governmental entity would want to undertake. In addition, these initiatives, especially NPM, resulted in changing the accountability concept, from accountability in terms of procedural compliance to accountability in terms of efficiency and results (effectivene...

Supplemental material, RAS864156 Supplemental Material for Unintended consequences in implementin... more Supplemental material, RAS864156 Supplemental Material for Unintended consequences in implementing public sector accounting reforms in emerging economies: evidence from Egypt, Nepal and Sri Lanka by Pawan Adhikari, Chamara Kuruppu, Hassan Ouda, Giuseppe Grossi and Dayananda Ambalangodage in International Review of Administrative Sciences

Revue Internationale des Sciences Administratives, 2021

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 2019

PurposeHow do cognitive aspects influence the use/non-use of accounting information by the politi... more PurposeHow do cognitive aspects influence the use/non-use of accounting information by the politicians? The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize and theorize the readiness to use and the actual use of accounting information in relation to the human and social agency involved.Design/methodology/approachApplying cognitive fit theory and social cognitive theory, the authors explain how cognition of accounting information producers and users relates to their tasks and their environment. Analyzing cognitive matching, the authors develop accounting information usefulness as a function of the cognitive match between the accounting information producers and users.FindingsThe theoretical findings posit that cognitive fit increases with the degree of matching between the cognition of accounting information producers and the cognition of accounting information users. The theory proposes that enriching and matching the various cognitive factors lead to formation of more aligned mental repr...

International Review of Administrative Sciences, 2019

This study investigates the implementation of public sector accounting reforms in Egypt, Nepal an... more This study investigates the implementation of public sector accounting reforms in Egypt, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Data for the article are derived through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with public administrators, government accountants and members of professional accountancy bodies. The article brings out the factors that have either individually or collectively stifled the diffusion trajectory of public sector accounting reforms in Egypt, Nepal and Sri Lanka at the implementation phase, including the bundling process, pro-innovation biases, informal and interpersonal networks, a boundary-spanning process, organisational communication, power disparity, and dominance. As a result, public sector accounting reforms have resulted in resistance, internal conflicts and unintended consequences, including the fabrication of results, in all three countries without any evidence of yielding better results for public sector governance and accountability. Points for practitioners ...

The last two decades have witnessed radical changes in the public sector of some countries such a... more The last two decades have witnessed radical changes in the public sector of some countries such as New Zealand, UK and Australia. In addition, the Asia-Pacific region (especially the countries which are called as Asian Tigers such as: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Philippines) has also witnessed remarkable public sector reform initiatives in terms of changing the role of state and its impact on public sector management; state/private sector relationship; resource use and efficiency; and decentralized planing. Even though most of the developed countries (and some of the developing countries such as: Tanzania) have followed this trend, governments in the Arab world are still using the traditional government accounting system (which is cash-based system) and traditional budgeting system (line item budget – input-based budget system). Those systems are no longer able to provide the information which is required by an efficient and effective government. Therefore, this paper will be...

1. Introduction and Background In fact, research in public sector accounting should ultimately fu... more 1. Introduction and Background In fact, research in public sector accounting should ultimately fulfil a practical purpose (Ouda, 2005) and should aim at improving the public sector accounting practice in the same way as the goal of medical research is to improve medical practice. The many breakthroughs today in medical practice would have been impossible without medical research. In medicine, there is a symbiotic relationship among medical research, medical education, and medical practice (Inane and Schneider, 2005). The picture is different in public sector accounting. The relationship is disjointed, with wide gaps between public sector accounting education, public sector accounting research, and public sector accounting practice. While CIGAR scholars and IFAC-IPSASB have exerted great efforts in the last three decades to develop the public sector accounting, these efforts are still of little value to the public sector accounting practice. This is due to the fact that their efforts...

Accountability in public sector entities requires disclosing information about management of publ... more Accountability in public sector entities requires disclosing information about management of public resources. Given the way the services they provide are funded and the dependency of service recipients on the provision of those services over the long term, accountability also requires providing information about matters such as the entity’s service delivery during the reporting period, and its capacity to continue to provide services in the future. Accordingly, accountability of public sector entities must embrace financial and nonfinancial information on the use of resources and services performed, and the ways in which they contribute to society. This information must be understandable to all stakeholders, especially to nonexpert citizens, particularly when it is addressed in a democratic accountability process. Public sector entities have developed several types of reports to consider these issues. This chapter deals with discharging of accountability by public sector entities, ...

Corporate Ownership and Control

This paper aims at constructing an objective measurement tool for the quality of corporate govern... more This paper aims at constructing an objective measurement tool for the quality of corporate governance practices implemented by listed companies in Egypt. Consequently, several main criteria for the inclusion and the exclusion of a corporate governance guideline were followed. The resulting “objective index and questionnaire” includes a total of 66 indicators grouped under four main internal corporate governance mechanisms: Ownership structure; Board of directors; Transparency and disclosure and Board committees. Additionally, the scoring process that can be used in the rankings of Egyptian listed companies is suggested

Practice-Relevant Accrual Accounting for the Public Sector, 2020

Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, 2016

Corporate Ownership and Control, 2017

Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 2016

Corporate Ownership and Control, 2018

Revue Internationale des Sciences Administratives, 2021

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 2019

International Review of Administrative Sciences, 2019

Corporate Ownership and Control

Advancing Long-Term Financial Sustainability Accounting and Reporting in the Public Sector: A Synthesis of Contributions and Conclusion, 2024

This chapter offers a thorough conclusion to the book, exploring the possible ramifications for s... more This chapter offers a thorough conclusion to the book, exploring the possible ramifications for scholars, public managers, standard-setting bodies, and practitioners. It presents diverse directions for future research, with the intention of igniting inspiration among researchers. The chapter emphasizes the continuous endeavor to enhance an innovative accounting and reporting system for long-term financial sustainability. Moreover, it advocates for progress toward the second and third phases of developing an integrated sustainability accounting and reporting system. This integrated system should be tailored to proficiently report and measure the three dimensions of sustainability accounting, comprising the social, environmental, and economic dimensions. Moreover, this chapter paves the way for a novel auditing approach termed ‘Financial Sustainability Auditing’ . This type of auditing is designed to verify not only retrospective accounting information but also information with a long-term future focus. Additionally, the paradigm shift will necessitate the development of a new branch termed ‘ Sustainable Public Governance’. This branch aims to oversee and control the executive actions of government, thereby directing governments toward achieving sustainability objectives.

A Sustainable Public Sector Balance Sheet Approach to Measuring Long-Term Financial Sustainability and Managing Public Wealth, 2024

The primary objective of the preceding chapters is to culminate in the creation of an innovative ... more The primary objective of the preceding chapters is to culminate in the creation of an innovative accounting and reporting system for measuring and reporting long-term financial sustainability in the public sector. This innovative system will result in the development of a novel balance sheet approach, accompanied by novel measurements and indicators. The integration of the novel balance sheet approach and its associated metrics facilitates the assessment and reporting of long-term financial sustainability while concurrently supporting the management of current and future public wealth. As a result, this chapter addresses the following questions: Does the newly formulated balance sheet approach furnish the necessary accounting information for measuring and reporting long-term financial sustainability in the public sector? Are the recently developed indicators and measurements sufficient metrics for assessing long-term financial sustainability in the public sector, as delineated in the multifaceted definition? Can alternative comprehensive metrics be derived from the freshly established balance sheet approach? Do the newly developed balance sheet approach and its core bottom lines provide the required accounting information for managing public wealth?

Overcoming Technical Accounting Challenges for the Implementation of Long-Term Financial Sustainability Accounting and Reporting in the Public Sector, 2024

Practical execution of long-term financial sustainability accounting and reporting is expected to... more Practical execution of long-term financial sustainability accounting and reporting is expected to face several technical accounting challenges arising from the integration of both historical and forward-looking accounting information. These numerous, yet-to-be-tackled technical accounting challenges emphasize the urgent necessity to address and overcome them. Their resolution is essential for the effective implementation of long-term financial sustainability accounting and reporting in the public sector. Chapter 5 tackles technical accounting challenges, encompassing the resolution of the following specific hurdles: Considering that the sustainable balance sheet includes the present value of future cash inflows, cash outflows, and financial obligations, what discount rate should be employed for such discounting? How should we deal with contingent liabilities in long-term projections? Is there a need to establish new recognition criteria? Reconsidering accounting standards: Are there essential modifications required in existing accounting standards to incorporate both forward- and backward-looking accounting information?

Developing Novel Accounting Bases, Measurement Focuses, and Expanding the Scope of Financial Reporting in Pursuit of Public Sector Long-Term Financial Sustainability, 2024

The establishment of a cohesive conceptual framework (explored in Chapter 3) requires a redefinit... more The establishment of a cohesive conceptual framework (explored in Chapter 3) requires a redefinition of accounting boundaries to suit the distinct demands of long-term financial sustainability accounting and reporting. This redefinition involves broadening the accounting scope to cover both historical and future government activities, facilitating the presentation of comprehensive retrospective and prospective accounting information. However, the existing accounting bases and measurement focuses primarily center on reporting historical accounting information, overlooking the disclosure of crucial future accounting information vital for assessing and measuring long-term financial sustainability in the public sector. Consequently, the creation of innovative accounting bases and measurement focuses becomes imperative to effectively capture the intricacies associated with measuring and reporting long-term financial sustainability. Moreover, expanding the scope of government financial statements is equally essential to include both retrospective and prospective accounting information. This broadened scope facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the financial implications linked to both past and future government activities. Chapter 4 has attempted to develop novel accounting bases and measurement focuses and expand the scope of financial statements to encompass both historical and forward-looking accounting information. Moreover, it introduces novel measurements and indicators to appropriately assess long-term financial sustainability.

Developing a Coherent Conceptual Framework of Public Sector Long-Term Financial Sustainability Accounting and Reporting, 2024

A crucial aspect of creating an innovative accounting and reporting system for public sector long... more A crucial aspect of creating an innovative accounting and reporting system for public sector long-term financial sustainability involves crafting a comprehensive and coherent conceptual framework that aligns with the chosen definition and objectives of long-term financial sustainability. This necessitates defining the boundaries of long-term financial sustainability accounting and reporting, specifying its users and their needs, outlining objectives, defining scope and contents, detailing reporting procedures, and establishing the qualitative characteristics of the information produced. Chapter 3 focuses on developing a coherent conceptual framework by addressing and discussing these aforementioned considerations in detail during the developmental stage to enhance the precision and organization of financial sustainability accounting information reporting. In addition, the establishment of a coherent conceptual framework appropriate for reporting and measuring long-term financial sustainability in the public sector has necessitated building upon three essential pillars. Chapter 3 examines the three pillars, including the traditional financial accounting model, generational accounting, and accounting theories (both positive and normative).

Examining Long-Term Financial Sustainability Accounting and Reporting in the Public Sector: A Comprehensive Analysis of Literature, Developments, and Practical Experiences, 2024

Creating an innovative accounting and reporting system tailored for reporting and assessing long-... more Creating an innovative accounting and reporting system tailored for reporting and assessing long-term financial sustainability in the public sector demands a solid literature review in this domain. A comprehensive literature review is crucial to elucidate the evolution of accounting and reporting for long-term financial sustainability in the public sector, drawing insights from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. Furthermore, the effective construction of an innovative accounting and reporting system for long-term financial sustainability necessitates a profound comprehension of the practical experiences of trailblazing countries in this domain, including the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. Scrutinizing the experiences of these nations can greatly enhance the development of a comprehensive conceptual framework for accounting and reporting on long-term financial sustainability. Moreover, the endeavors undertaken by national and international standards-setters play a crucial role in the development of innovative accounting and reporting system. Chapter 2 aims to conduct a comprehensive literature review and investigate the experiences of developed nations, standard-setting organizations, and professional bodies. These investigations aim to facilitate the establishment of foundational cornerstones for constructing an innovative accounting and reporting system focused on long-term financial sustainability.

LONG-TERM FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR, 2024

This book addresses a longstanding issue that emerged 50 years ago and continues to persist-the l... more This book addresses a longstanding issue that emerged 50 years ago and continues to persist-the lack of an accounting and reporting system for financial sustainability. Consequently, the primary aim of this book is to develop a novel accounting and reporting system for measuring and reporting long-term financial sustainability in the public sector. The significance of this book lies in its introduction of an innovative role within the field of accounting. This role entails providing guidance and issuing alerts to governments regarding essential adjustments needed in current policies to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of governmental entities. Through elucidating the prospective trajectory of public finance within the ongoing implementation of current policies, this approach functions as an early warning system for governments and empowering them to proactively modify their policies and transition from unsustainable scenarios to sustainable ones. The primary audience for this book includes practitioners, academics, students, professional bodies, and various users of accounting information in the public sector, such as public managers and policymakers seeking accounting information for corrective measures. Additionally, international organizations like the IMF and World Bank, tasked with assessing countries' long-term financial sustainability, will find this work indispensable.

Long-Term Financial Sustainability Accounting and Reporting in the Public Sector: A Novel Role, Concept and Focus, 2024

This chapter has undertaken a critical reassessment of the development of long-term financial sus... more This chapter has undertaken a critical reassessment of the development of long-term financial sustainability accounting and reporting and its evolutionary trajectory. It highlights that traditional accounting systems in the public sector still lack in providing sufficiently relevant accounting information concerning the financial sustainability of public sector entities. This deficiency stems from the understanding that reporting on the financial sustainability of public sector entities requires not only historical information but also the integration of forward-looking information. Furthermore, it explores the emergence of a novel role within the realm of accounting, specifically focusing on the long-term financial sustainability of public sector entities. This newly defined role entails guiding and alerting the government regarding necessary adjustments to current policies, aimed at ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of governments. Finally, it explores why the book concentrates on the public sector's long-term financial sustainability.

Palgrave Macmillan, 2020

While the transition to accrual accounting has been the most notable reform of public sector acco... more While the transition to accrual accounting has been the most notable reform of public sector accounting in the last three decades for many countries, most of the standard-setters, academics, and practitioners direct their efforts to force public sector entities’ information into business reporting frameworks, instead of really thinking about reshaping the application of accrual accounting principles, assumptions, and concepts to make them more practice-relevant for public sector entities. This chapter discusses how the principles and postulations associated with accrual accounting might or might not be applied to the public sector, recognizing the similarities between the public and private sectors, and exploring the differences. Furthermore, it makes purposes on how some of these principles and postulations can be reshaped so they can properly be applied to the public sector realm.

In book: Practice-Relevant Accrual Accounting for the Public Sector: Producers' and Users' perspectives Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020

Fiscal sustainability aims to assure that current taxpayers are paying for the services that they... more Fiscal sustainability aims to assure that current taxpayers are paying for the services that they receive and not passing these costs on to the future generations. While the notion of using accrual accounting in the government sector is to assist in measuring the long-term fiscal sustainability, the accrual-based balance sheet has inherent limitations that greatly reduce its utility as a measure of long-term fiscal sustainability. Moreover, the current literature lacks the focus on the role of accounting frameworks in the endeavor to make public sector entities financially sustainable and there is no elaboration on how governmental accounting can contribute towards reporting on fiscal sustainability. Therefore, the main purpose of this chapter is to propose a Sustainable Accounting Approach that provides a practice-relevant accounting information, which assists in measuring and reporting on the long-term fiscal sustainability

In book: Practice-Relevant Accrual Accounting for the Public Sector: Producers' and Users' perspectives Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020

Current public sector accounting literature has indicated the failure of accounting research to m... more Current public sector accounting literature has indicated the failure of accounting research to make the public sector accrual accounting more user practice relevant. This, in turn, means that public sector accounting should start a new era that shifts its focus on attempting to fit users and their needs into the design process to challenging the design process to better fit into users' practice. Accordingly, the goal of this chapter is to explore a method for insight generation of a user practice-relevant public sector accrual accounting and financial reporting system. This method uses a Practice-Oriented Co-Design Approach aiming at conceptualizing a dynamic model for designing accrual accounting and financial reporting system that can produce a practice-relevant accounting information which can take into account the diverging needs of different users and enhance its use and appreciation by the politicians and the other users.

In book: Practice-Relevant Accrual Accounting for the Public Sector: Producers' and Users' perspectives Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020

Although the production and use of accounting information, to some extent, have received consider... more Although the production and use of accounting information, to some extent, have received considerable attention in the public sector accounting literature, researching the production and actual use of accounting information in relation to the human and social agency involved has always constituted a negligible part of the research agenda. Incorporating human behavior into traditional accounting models and theories improves our explanation and predictions of the producers’ and users’ behavior, including the issue in focus which is the scarcity of actual use of accounting information by the politicians. This chapter aims at producing a practice-relevant information for the governing politicians by developing the Accounting Information Usefulness Theory (AIUT), which seeks to explain how cognitive aspects influence the use/non-use of accounting information by the politicians.

In book: Practice-Relevant Accrual Accounting for the Public Sector: Producers' and Users' perspectives Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020

While the transition to accrual accounting has been the most notable reform of public sector acco... more While the transition to accrual accounting has been the most notable reform of public sector accounting in the last three decades for many countries, most of standard-setters, academics and practitioners direct their efforts to force public sector entities’ information into business reporting frameworks, instead of really thinking about reshaping the application of accrual accounting principles, assumptions and concepts to make them more practice-relevant for public sector entities. This chapter discusses how the principles and postulations associated with accrual accounting might or might not be applied to the public sector, recognizing the similarities between the public and private sectors, and exploring the differences. Furthermore, it makes purposes on how some of these principles and postulations can be reshaped so they can properly be applied to the public sector realm.

Palgrave Macmillan, 2021

This book addresses the necessary developments and adjustments that can be regarded as a promisin... more This book addresses the necessary developments and adjustments that can be regarded as a promising starting point for making accrual accounting a more practice-relevant for the public sector entities. Specifically, the main focus is on Reshaping the application of accrual accounting principles and assumptions to fit the context of public sector entities; Developing a practice-relevant holistic accounting approach for governmental capital assets, which has been based on developing and reshaping the assets recognition criteria; Scope of general purpose financial reporting from an accountability perspective; Suggesting a sustainable accounting approach for reporting on the long-term fiscal sustainability; Developing a dynamic model for making public sector accrual accounting a more user practice relevant; and finally, Developing a theory of accounting information usefulness, which explains how cognitive aspects do influence the use/non-use of accounting information by the politicians. Fundamentally, the book has tackled these necessary developments and adjustments from both the producer’s and the user’s perspectives.

Many governments of developed countries have reformed their public administration system in the l... more Many governments of developed countries have reformed their public administration system in the last three decades. This administrative reform is characterized by managerial freedom, market driven
competition, businesslike service delivery, value for money, result-based performance, client orientation, and a pro-market culture. These
aspects of the administrative reform have been described collectively as new public management (NPM) (Hood 1991). The NPM culture centered
itself on increasing the individual responsibility, giving the managers extensive discretion in the use of resources, on output instead of input and on measuring the performance in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. The move toward the NPM has resulted in making parallel reforms in public financial management, as the NPM initiatives
have had a substantial impact on public sector accounting and resulted in changing the accountability concept: from accountability in terms of
procedural compliance to accountability in terms of efficiency and results (effectiveness and cost-effectiveness). Accountability for results depends on clear objectives stated in measurable terms and
on budgets showing the minimum results to be achieved. This must be also based on expenditure limits and on accounting and auditing systems that measure and report on actual results. Of course, this raises the desirability of the public financial management reform (hereafter PFMR). see the chapter.