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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.

This paper aims to provide an assessment of the decision-usefulness and quality of governmental financial reports in Greece under the recently adopted modified-cash basis. The evaluation is performed within the wider debate regarding the actual benefits of a transition toward an accounting paradigm that lies closer to accrual accounting as the Greek modified-cash basis borrows several accrual characteristics.

The transition to modified accruals is analyzed through the prism of the new institutional theory. The approach adopted builds on the characteristics of the accounting information pertaining to the conceptual frameworks of public and private sector accounting standard setting bodies. The assessment is conducted on the basis of the perceptions of public sector financial information users on a Web-based questionnaire.

The findings provide empirical evidence, albeit of moderate magnitude, in favor of the benefits associated with a move to full accruals.

The study moves the debate on the merits of accounting systems’ changes toward the worldwide witnessed trajectory a step forward by providing practical evidence on the matter.

The paper presents the results of an empirical study in which bank loan officers evaluated a loan application which were accompanied by financial statements based on either accrual accounting or modified cash basis of accounting (MCBOA). The loan officers first decided whether to grant the loan and determined an interest rale. Second, they evaluated the financial statements information on the basis of three quality attributes: Overall reliability, freedom from clerical errors and freedom from the effects of fraud. The results verified a functional fixation hypothesis by showing that the loan officers examining the financial statements of the same company using either accrual information or MCBOA showed clear preference for the company when faced with accrual information. A conditioning factor is used to explain the results.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the application of budgeting and accounting bases and their relation to financial accounting reporting systems through a comparative survey of three South-Eastern European countries (Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Entity of the Republic of Srpska).

The in-depth analysis based on the study of related literature and comprehensive review of existing indicators of accounting systems leads to the identification and characterization of the most important components of the government accounting systems’ focusing also on the information usefulness in the decision-making processes.

Dual reporting based on different bases is the main feature of the accounting information system of selected countries. Budgetary reports based on a cash basis represent the primary source of information for decision making. Selected jurisdictions started with the preparation and presentation of financial reports based on the accrual/modified accrual basis which was not the result of the informational needs of decision-makers, so the information themselves have become their own purpose.

By exploring the opportunities and obstacles in the implementation of the accrual basis in the selected countries, the paper contributes to the development of the EPSAS project.

This paper contributes to the literature on the application of various budgeting and accounting bases, with an emphasis on research of the similarities and differences of the reporting methods, for the purpose of distinguishing more easily two basic types of reports and, consequently, identifying their appropriate use.

Positive accounting theory suggests jurisdictions will meet their stakeholders’ financial information needs at the lowest possible cost, and current accounting policy will change if it does not accomplish that objective. This paper examines the breadth of stakeholders who are associated with accounting policy. We use multivariate methods to determine which among a group of potential users including taxpayers, interest groups, local government managers, the municipal credit market, and other governmental entities are correlated with accounting policy among municipal governments in Illinois. The results suggest one particular stakeholder - the municipal credit market - is an important determinant of the use of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The analysis shows that professionalism, history, and administrative capacity are also associated with a municipality’s accounting policy.

This study examines specific budget execution items (as proxies of vulnerability and sustainability) along with political factors to identify earnings management (EM) practices in Greek municipalities.

The study employs a sample of 1,831 financial and budget execution statements for the period 2011–2019. EM is proxied by unsigned discretionary accruals that are assessed through the performance-matched modified-Jones model and the modified-Jones model.

The findings provide evidence that the municipality’s dependence on subsidies (or its self-sufficiency) affects EM, especially during the pre-election year. Municipalities that maintain their financial autonomy engage less in EM in pre-election years. Lastly, it is proven that electoral cycles, weak opposition and other variables exert an effect on the size of EM. Sensitivity analysis confirms the results.

This paper contributes to the literature on EM by analyzing for the first time budget execution items (as proxies of vulnerability and sustainability) and their impact on the size of unsigned discretionary accruals.

In this paper an analysis is made of significant accounting and budgetary reforms that have recently been introduced within the framework of a broader reform called New Public Management. These reforms have led to the adoption of the accrual basis in accounting in many developed countries (i.e. the effects of transactions or events are recognized when they take place, irrespective of the moment when cash is paid or received). However, in 2003 it has only been adopted in budgeting by three of them: New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. In this paper the international situation is analyzed with a view to the future adoption of the accrual basis in budgeting.

In response to increasing pressures for public sector efficiency and effectiveness, many countries have switched from cash-based governmental accounting to accrual-based approaches. But other countries have rejected this change, suggesting that its costs and benefits may vary with country-specific factors. To gain insights into the desirability and feasibility of changing China’s governmental accounting from the current cash-based system to one based on the accrual approach, we survey 608 Chinese government staff and officials who either prepare or use such reports. These respondents identify a number of specific inadequacies in the current system and express widespread support for converting towards an accrual-based approach. They also assess the severity of potential impediments to change and the most workable arrangement and timetable for such a change.

This study examines accounting reform in the Sri Lankan public sector using an actor–network perspective. The study is particularly concerned with the role of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Sri Lanka (ICASL) in building networks of organisational actors in the diffusion of Sri Lankan Public Sector Accounting Standards (SLPSAS).

The empirical data draws on interviews with key actors to understand the role of ICASL in the diffusion of SLPSAS. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of ICASL and senior public sector officers. The data were analysed based on the four stages underlying the translation process: problematisation, interessement, enrolment and mobilisation.

The data suggest that ICASL became a lead player in the diffusion of public sector accounting standards because of its superior technical capability. ICASL cultivated a way of thinking about accrual accounting by executing relational influence generated through professional knowledge, and connections with the government and public sector accountants.

Findings should be interpreted with caution; data are limited by the subjective interpretation of data. By concentrating on the role of ICASL, the role and influence of other key actors may be overlooked.

This study contributes to the literature on how innovations transform accounting practice through the lens of the ICASL. The result builds on evidence explaining why provincial governments and public sector governments were hesitant to adopt SLPSAS despite central government directives.