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The purpose of this article is to assess the state of financial reporting in provincial government departments in South Africa. One of the obstacles in transforming financial reporting in South Africa is changing from cash accounting to accrual accounting. The survey in this study revealed that, while most public sector accounting guidelines and legislation are in place, government departments are still using cash accounting. The current accounting information system seems to be unsuitable for accrual accounting. Respondents assigned a poor rating to the effectiveness of public sector financial reporting, and the slow rate at which this system is being transformed.

Government accounting shows the assets and resources of the government, the changes that occur in them, to provide the necessary information to evaluate the effectiveness of the government in revenue and expense management, and to produce the information required by economic management. In this context, the past, present, and future of the Turkish government accounting system discussed in the theoretical framework in the study.

The purpose of this paper is to trace the rise and fall of accruals in the Nepalese central government, contributing to the literature on accrual accounting by looking at the developments in developing countries.

The ideas of institutional theory have provided a theoretical setting through which to trace the country's journey toward the accrual basis of accounting. Document search and informal interviews represent the major methods of collecting data for this paper.

The paper demonstrates that Nepal has been acquainted with the notion of accrual accounting since the late 1980s. The interest of international organizations and the involvement of professional accountants have been the two main factors driving this accrual accounting journey. The study also shows that the implementation of accrual accounting in the Nepalese central government has been an unsuccessful mission. This is why the notion of accrual accounting has been replaced by the improved version of cash accounting anchored on the cash basis International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS).

It is beyond the scope of this paper to generalize that the trend toward accrual accounting has also reversed in other developing countries.

The paper contributes to the literature dealing with the role and influence of international organizations in facilitating public sector accounting reforms in developing countries. Moreover, the study argues that there has been a change in the attitude of international organizations toward exerting pressures on developing countries to carry out accrual accounting reforms. This changing attitude of international organizations has led many developing nations to focus more on improvements in their existing accounting standards and procedures.

In the Dutch central government (following countries like New Zealand, Australia and the UK) a system of resource budgeting is being developed as a substitute for its present dual system of cash/commitment budgeting for core departments and accrual accounting for executive agencies. Advocates of this approach claim that resource budgeting will improve the allocation of government spending and increase efficiency in government production. A basic flaw of the reform proposals is the failure to acknowledge the hybridity of government activities and the need to accommodate these hybridities in the accounting system. We argue that the present dual system, with some minor revisions, will be superior to the proposed resource budgeting system.

Will implementation of GASB Statement 34 induce the adoption of cost-accounting models in local governments? The authors address that question based on the findings of a national survey of local and county finance officers. Findings suggest that while finance officials recognize that GASB 34 will prompt greater accuracy and transparency in financial reporting, it may not serve to propagate greater utilization of activity-based costing (ABC) or its derivatives. Possible explanations may include feared impacts of increased cost accounting transparency as well as limited perceived payoff for investments in ABC-related tools. The authors acknowledge that this is a baseline “read” of attitudes; continued experience under GASB 34 may crystallize attitudes and lend greater support for future implementation of private-sector based- accounting methods.

Governments in Australia are in the process of implementing accrual reporting for their departments and governments as a whole. The central issue of this paper is to provide an explanation as to how general purpose financial reporting became a significant issue for governments in Australia. Agenda‐setting literature provides the framework within which to analyse the specific events and strategies used by public sector accountants to promote accrual technologies. The main finding of the research is that accrual technologies have been promoted by public sector accountants working from within government institutions, and often aligned with the organised accounting profession. Prior to the late 1980s the Auditors‐General were the main actors involved, however, more recently, accounting technologies have been promoted by accounting policy units within Treasuries and Departments of Finance. The paper concludes with a call for future research on the implications of such accounting changes for organisational and social functioning.

Purpose – This empirical article aims at studying whether, how, and to what extent the South Asian countries have or are planning to move in the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) direction.

Design/methodology/approach – By applying the institutional perspectives, the article seeks to explore the roles and contributions of international financial institutions in the dissemination of public sector accounting reform ideas, particularly IPSASs ideas in South Asia. Document search represents the major method of collecting data for this study.

Findings – The present article demonstrates that the majority of the South Asian countries have envisaged the adoption of the cash basis IPSAS as a way forward in order to implement accrual accounting. International financial institutions have seemingly created a myth in the region that accrual accounting cannot be introduced without first complying with the cash basis IPSAS. However, the countries’ efforts are to a large extent directed at adapting rather than adopting IPSASs in all material respects. In relation to this, the article suggests that the acceptance of IPSASs in South Asia is better understood in terms of legitimacy.

Research limitations/implications – It is beyond the scope of this article to cover the ongoing public sector accounting reforms in South Asia other than IPSASs reforms as well as to reveal accounting changes at other levels than central government level.

Practical implications – The article raises doubts as to whether and to what extent the cash basis IPSAS will help public sector management reforms in South Asia.

Originality/value – Given the paucity of consistent research efforts on the topic in Western English language literature, the present article strives to bring ongoing IPSASs reforms in South Asia into the international arena. The article also contributes to the growing body of the comparative public sector accounting research by presenting the similarities and differences in government accounting reforms, particularly IPSASs reforms, in South Asia.

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to examine the contextual variables that influence the pace of public sector reforms through the adoption of accrual accounting for the Indonesian public sector.

Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a historically informed study based on a modified version of the Luder's (1992) Contingency Model (LCM). The data are drawn from official documents issued by the Indonesian government about reporting system for the public sector in the country and interviews with the key figures involved in the public sector accounting reforms in Indonesia. The study also uses publicly available information addressing the recent progress in the implementation of the accrual accounting system in the Indonesian public sector.

Key findings – The adoption of accrual accounting in the Indonesian public sector was stimulated by the economic crisis, prodemocratic movements, and international pressures for the reform of the public sector. However, the public sector accounting reforms in the country are confronted with significant implementation barriers which include legal issues, the lack of political supports, and skilled human resources. These barriers in turn threaten the intended purposes to be achieved through the greater economic and public sector reforms in the newly democratic Indonesia.

Research limitations/implications – The arguments of the study should be understood in the context of the institutional setting of Indonesia as a developing country. Nonetheless, the findings of this study show an example of the complexity faced through the use of the private sector accounting practice in the public sector context.

Originality/value – The findings of the study support the notion that the nature of legal system, political support, and human resource capacity influence the extent to which an accounting system is adopted in the public sector.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the reasons why Sri Lanka adopted International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) recently. Many less developed countries (LDCs) have introduced IPSAS during the recent past. However, little research has been conducted to study the New Public Financial Management and accrual accounting and their impact on LDCs.

Using a qualitative approach, the methods of this paper consist of interviews, a documentary review and participatory observation in the Ministry of Finance and Planning (MOFP) and Auditor General’s Department of Sri Lanka, and present a critical interpretation supported by the perspective of globalisation.

The findings of the research indicate that the public sector reforms and the transition from cash accounting to accrual accounting in the public sector have been strongly affected by the global pressures imposed by international agencies such as International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) and the World Bank (WB). Empirical evidence shows the dysfunctional impact of globalisation in the public sector accounting standards as there are major structural issues yet to resolve. There are increasing doubts over whether the change to accrual accounting is worth the costs and the additional risks involved.

The results of the interviews are based on the knowledge and past experiences of interviewees. What is generalisable is an understanding of the processes and mechanisms that relate to the way the public sector accounting functions.

This paper adds new literature on public sector accounting in LDCs, which recognises the nexus and interests of international agencies and practice of public sector accounting.

The adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) in particular the Cash Basis IPSAS has now become a priority for the World Bank and other donors in less developed countries (LDCs). The paper explores the dissemination and implementation of the Cash Basis IPSAS in Nepal, a less developed country which is considered as one of the front-runners in terms of embracing the Cash Basis IPSAS.

The paper draws on diffusion theory to explain the internal and external factors related to the adoption and implementation of the Cash Basis IPSAS in the Nepali public sector. Data for the paper are derived from document analysis and semi-structured interviews.

The study shows that the adoption and implementation of the Cash Basis IPSAS in Nepal has become more of rhetoric than reality. Claims that the Cash Basis IPSAS is gaining popularity and widespread success across less developed countries are therefore contentious.

The case of Nepalese central government may not be adequate to generalise the adoption of the cash basis IPSAS in all less developed countries. Nonetheless, the study provides an overview of on-going public sector accounting reforms in less developed countries.

The paper emphasises the need for the identification of good accounting practices for less developed countries rather than forcing them into symbolic acceptance of the Cash Basis IPSAS. An example of such a good practice can be the promotion of certain aspects of modified cash accounting.