Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management: Volume 34 Issue 6

Earnings management in public-sector organizations: a structured literature review

Marco Bisogno, Pierre Donatella

Research dealing with earnings management in the public-sector context is expanding. This paper aims to review the existing literature to understand how research is developing and…

Capital expenditure deviations in a fragmented municipal context – the case of the Swedish municipal water and sewerage sector

Mattias Haraldsson

The aim of this paper is to explore whether and how external, political, financial and governance factors influence capital expenditure deviations in the Swedish municipal water…

Balancing between accountability and autonomy: the impact and relevance of public steering mechanisms within higher education

Tomi J. Kallio, Kirsi-Mari Kallio, Mira Huusko, Riitta Pyykkö, Jussi Kivistö

This article studies the tensions between universities' accountability and autonomy in response to the demands of public steering mechanisms coordinating higher education…

An appraisal of financial indicators for local government: a structured literature review

Silvia Iacuzzi

Considering the increased financial responsibility of local government (LG), the impact of global crises and the growing adoption of accrual accounting and common standards such…

Do non-financial performance and accrual-based cost information affect public sector budgeting?

Makoto Kuroki, Katsuhiro Motokawa

This study aims to provide evidence of how budget officers use non-financial and accrual-based cost information in the budgeting process and how the usage of this information is…

Reporting on COVID-19 – or not? Annual report disclosure of the pandemic as a subsequent event

Pierre Donatella, Mattias Haraldsson, Torbjörn Tagesson

This paper focuses on the extent to which Swedish municipalities identified and communicated risks due to the COVID-19 outbreak early on. The purpose of this paper is to explore…

“What is going on in the ‘big tent’?” Current developments in (new) institutional theory and performance measurement and management research

Tobias Polzer

In a recent paper that was published in Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management, Modell (2021) takes stock of the institutional research on performance…

Does fiscal decentralization promote economic growth? An empirical approach to the study of China and India

Yinghua Jin, Mark Rider

The authors test the effect of expenditure decentralization and fiscal equalization on short- and long-run economic growth and estimate two-step generalized method of moment (GMM…

Accounting as rhetorical devices during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Australian universities

Zahirul Hoque, Kate Mai, Esin Ozdil

This paper has two purposes. First, it aims to explore how Australian universities used calculative rhetoric and practices through accounting numbers to persuade employees and…

Vernacular budgeting and accounting routines – a longitudinal constructive case study

Toni Mättö, Marko Järvenpää, Pekka Peura, Merja Kangasjärvi, Harri Lehtinen

This case study aims to report a longitudinal analysis of the development and use of local “vernacular” accounting practice and a digital rolling-forecast system known as…

Budget transparency and financial sustainability

Beatriz Cuadrado-Ballesteros, Marco Bisogno

This study investigates the transparency of budgets by examining its relationship with financial sustainability, which is a central area of research in the public-sector context.

To build or not to build? Mobilization of uncertainty arguments in public decision-making on private megaprojects

Peeter Peda, Eija Vinnari

Uncertainty, a state of unknowing linked to threats and opportunities, is a key characteristic of megaprojects, making it challenging for government officials and politicians to…

Financial accounting information presented with infographics: does it improve financial reporting understandability?

Sandra Cohen, Francesca Manes Rossi, Xenia Mamakou, Isabel Brusca

Governmental financial reporting is prepared for accountability and decision-making purposes and is directed to a wide range of users, including citizens. However, this may sound…