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This article presents an exploratory analysis of perceived information needs for managing fixed public sector assets in South-Eastern Europe (SEE).

The analysis was carried out from a user needs perspective. A questionnaire was administered to government officials in SEE. Respondents were queried about what categories of information they need to make or to recommend five typical decisions concerning fixed public sector assets. Respondents also provided assessments on current availability and quality of information on fixed public sector assets, cost-benefit considerations regarding data collection and suitability of information for routine collection and updating.

The findings of this study indicate that the information collected for financial reporting purposes is recognized as insufficient to support decision-making on fixed public sector assets. However, perceived information needs by respondents are still rather basic. The need for more “sophisticated” and “strategic” information is found to be rather low, more so when the cost of collecting and processing such information is considered.

The findings of this study raise concerns about the persistently insufficient attention paid to the potential benefits that well-compiled and appropriately used asset registries could produce. The findings of this study might be useful to governments initiating the identification and measurement of their fixed assets, establishing fixed asset registries and instituting relevant regulation.

This study adds to the scant literature on the management of fixed public sector assets. It provides evidence on the perceived information needs of public sector officials, and it contributes to the ongoing debate on what good public sector asset management is and how it should be pursued.

GAUGING the diameter, position, and depth of 50 holes in a light alloy rotor head plate for Westland Helicopters now takes just 15 minutes at the Brockenhurst works of aerospace subcontractor Redmayne Engineering Ltd, with their new Validator microprocessor‐controlled co‐ordinate measuring machine from Brown & Sharpe Ltd, Plymouth. Previously this job took 4 hours using height gauges and other manual techniques.

This study analyses to what extent politicians use public sector entities' financial statements along with the politicians' perceptions of the usefulness of such statements in the politicians' decision-making. The authors analyze financial statements' use and usefulness when the statements are prepared on a modified accrual basis and in the setting where there is the intention of full accrual accounting adoption. In addition, this study provides information about the use of the individual components of financial statements and investigates the reasons why the statements may not be used.

This study was conducted using a questionnaire. The authors surveyed politicians that are members of Croatian public sector bodies. To conduct this research, the politicians were contacted by telephone over the period from February to April 2022.

The findings of this study are of potential interest to researchers, regulators and policy makers. The findings show that most politicians use financial statements, but the politicians' perception of the statements' usefulness when the statements are prepared on a modified accrual accounting basis is greater than the politicians' actual use of the statements. The findings also show that in the process of making decisions, politicians use the selected financial statements that contain information of interest to the politicians; that the politicians tend to gravitate to the use of reports on revenue, expenses, receipts and expenditure prepared on modified accrual bases which are closer to budgetary reporting; that the politicians use the information that supports the politicians' sphere of responsibility as enforced by legislation.

This study provides insights into the use and usefulness of financial statements in public sector setting where modified accrual accounting is used to prepare the statements and reports. This study provides additional evidence on the significance of legal setting to the financial reporting in public sector.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the financial determinants of local government debt in New Zealand.

To investigate the financial determinants of local government debt in New Zealand, the authors analyse the relationship between key financial variables with local government debt in New Zealand based on the theories of fiscal accountability and moral hazard using a panel data methodology, specifically the pooled ordinary least squares regression model.

The findings suggest that council income is the major financial determinant of local government borrowing in New Zealand rather than infrastructural spending and that during the global financial crises (GFC) borrowing levels of New Zealand local councils was not significantly impacted. However, the findings indicate that post the GFC, low interest rates have stimulated increased borrowing activity by New Zealand local governments to fund infrastructure.

This paper is the first to examine the determinants of local government debt in New Zealand. The findings of this study contribute to better understanding of local government/municipality debt in New Zealand and internationally by providing evidence on the financial determinants of debt of local governments and the indirect use of government policy to control local government borrowing. The findings of this study are anticipated to affect local government practices and national government policies in relation to local government finances.

By juxtaposing fatal colliery explosions in early twentieth-century Britain and in 2010 at Pike River, New Zealand, this paper aims to investigate the generalizability of the mock bureaucracy concept to underground coal mining disasters.

The main source is published official accident inquiries; a methodological reflection justifies the use of these materials.

Mock bureaucracies existed in the British underground coal mining milieu from the time when safety rules were first formulated in that industry context. As for Pike River, it is an exemplary case. The development in 1970s Britain of a new approach to safety management (the Robens system), and its subsequent export to New Zealand, means that a contemporary coal mine under financial duress, such as Pike River, is a prime site for mock bureaucracy to flourish.

Although the concept of mock bureaucracy has been applied to an explosion in an underground coal mine before, this is the first paper to explore the concept’s historical usage and generalizability in explaining the environing context of such explosions.

In recent years there has been a significant change in the pattern of relationships within the economy: between the disposal of the output of British manufacturers abroad and in the home market, and the relationship of that with retail buying at home and abroad. This changing pattern requires a more lively acceptance of the place of retailing in the national economy. It is the retail trade's obligation to explain these facts to Press, Parliament and public. This was the main thesis propounded by Lord Redmayne, deputy chairman of the House of Fraser and until recently Chairman of the Retail Consortium, in a special address to the Industrial Society, which we summarise here.

New Zealand (NZ) has no reporting standard or guidance for management commentary (MC) that accompanies financial reports. This is unusual, considering MC is provided by many entities and valued by users. Further, the guidance on MC provided by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in their Management Commentary Practice Statement 1 (MCPS1), which was issued in 2010, is currently under review. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the views of NZ’s financial reporting stakeholders, particularly users, preparers and auditors of financial reports for insights regarding the usefulness of MC.

To gain insights into the views of NZ’s financial reporting stakeholders on MC, this paper surveyed users, preparers and auditors of financial statements. This paper includes an analysis of their views on the objectives, content and principles that should underlie MC in financial reporting, based on the IASB’s MCPS1 with consideration of recent work by the IASB on the revision of MCPS1. In addition, the analysis provides insights as to whether the reporting of MC should be made mandatory, and whether assuring MC would increase its usefulness.

This study found that auditors generally view MC as less useful and more in need of assurance than do preparers and users. Respondents’ ratings indicate that the most important objective for MC is “to enable the assessment of the quality of management’s stewardship”. “Assessing the entity’s future prospects”, and “assessing future cash flows” are also highly rated objectives. The most important principle in preparing MC is identified as “focus on the most important and relevant information”, while the most important content element identified is “the entity's financial performance and position, and cash flows”.

This paper highlights the views of various stakeholders regarding MC reporting, particularly preparers and auditors whose views have not been noted previously in the literature. Also, this study should be of interest to both international and national financial reporting standard setters and regulators. It is particularly timely in view of the current IASB work towards revision and updating of MCPS1, as it provides current insights into what users, preparers and auditors perceive as the most important considerations for MC. This study also has implications for the XRB in NZ, where there is no prior research on stakeholders’ views on MC.

In recent years, accounting for heritage assets has evolved but continuing the diversity in reporting practices remains problematic. Traditional cash-based budgets are still common in governmental accounting in some countries, but these ignore heritage assets as they are non-realisable and often do not generate revenue. Heritage assets do, however, incur cash outflows. The adoption of accrual accounting for recording heritage assets raises the technical issues of recognition and measurement of such assets, both in the balance sheet and income statements.

This chapter examines the financial reporting environment for heritage assets in New Zealand (NZ). The authors provide evidence on the reporting practices of heritage assets by five of NZ’s significant museums during the period 2011–2020, under IAS 16 and IPSAS 17 requirements. The authors analyse disclosures on heritage assets in the financial reports of these museums, including accounting policies, valuation and measurement, income statement impact, and related notes.

The findings suggest that, despite the existence of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) (IAS 16) and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) (IPSAS 17) reporting standards during this period, a variety of reporting practices exist among NZ museums. For example, heritage assets are recognised either at fair value or historical cost on the balance sheet or not recognised in the financial statements at all. These findings suggest substantial non-uniformity in the actual measurement and reporting of heritage assets. They are of interest to policy-makers and regulators, particularly in countries that are currently considering adoption of IPSAS.