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New public management (NPM) has transformed the public sector auditing context, although in quite different ways. Further, investigations into NPM’s impact on public sector auditors and audit institutions have been largely unconnected, with the exception of the critical examination of performance audits. We investigate the question of how public sector auditors’ roles and activities have changed as a result of NPM and later reforms.

We examine and synthesise public sector audit research examining reforms since the year 2000. The research presented considers changes to external and internal public sector audits as well as the development of public sector audit institutions – known as supreme audit institutions (SAIs).

Considerable changes have occurred. Many were influenced by NPM, but others have evolved from the eco-system of accounting, auditing and public sector management. External auditors have responded to an increase in demand for accountability. Additional management and governance techniques have been introduced from the private sector, such as internal auditing and audit committees. NPM has also led to conflicting trends, particularly when governments introduced competition to public sector auditing by contracting out but then chose to centralise to improve accountability. There is also greater international influence now through bodies like the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and similar regional bodies.

NPM reforms and the eco-system have impacted public sector auditing. Sustainability reporting is emerging as an area requiring more auditing attention; auditors also need to continue to develop better ways to communicate with citizens. Further, research into auditing in non-Western nations and emerging technologies is also required, especially where it provides learnings around more valuable audit practices. Empirical evidence is required of the strengths and weaknesses of SAIs’ structural variety.

A recent OECD report on labour disputes noted that there has been a considerable increase in strike activity in the public sector of a number of member countries in recent times. Moreover, it was noted that strikes have started to occur in the traditionally “quiet” parts of the public sector in various countries. There is little need to stress this point in the last few years as the strikes that are attracting attention throughout the world are virtually all in the public sector; witness, for example, the air traffic controllers' dispute in the United States, the campaign of selective industrial action by civil servants in Britain and the postal and telecommunications disputes in Australia in mid‐1981.

This article aims to focus on the impact of the current austerity measures on UK public sector anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource capacity building initiative developed over the years to tackle fraud against the public purse.

The article draws on secondary sources of data and available literature on fraud and financial crime.

Fraud is a challenge in the UK public sector but the cut-back on anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resources, given the scale of public sector fraud, the growing emphasis on accountability and the time of austerity with public money more exposed to fraud is arguably a back-door/u-turn policy on zero-tolerance approach in tackling public sector fraud and financial crime. There is the potential of this encouraging more fraud and financial crime against the public sector in the long term if measures are not taken to devise strategies for enhancing anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource capacity.

The research implication for this article is that it opens an avenue for future studies to examine post austerity strategies for strengthening public sector anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource strategies to deal with emerging fraud threats to UK public sector.

This article acts as a reference guide for policymakers to reflect on the long-term adverse impact of the austerity on anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource capacity and capability in tackling fraud public sector fraud.

The paper attempts to present an alternative lens to examining the scale of UK public sector fraud problem rather than relying on headline story of declining fraud in UK.

This paper seeks to explore the role of public sector accountants in the new millennium. Our contention is that the past (in terms of public sector reforms and ‘traditional’ accounting practices) will strongly influence the public sector accountant in the future. In order to illustrate this, we consider the key reforms which have taken place within the public sector over the last two decades, and the role of the accountant therein. We assess the extent to which these changes will continue to impact the accountant in the future. We also consider that the accountant is constrained by the past, in terms of the continuing dominance of certain accounting practices. The role of the accountant in the new millennium can therefore be seen in terms of both continuity and change.

This study aims to assess the alignment of South Korea’s government-certified social enterprises (GCSEs) with prevailing social enterprise (SE) models, notably the entrepreneurial nonprofit, social cooperative and social business models delineated in the “Emergence of Social Enterprises in Europe” (Defourny and Nyssens, 2012, 2017a, 2017b) and the “principle of interest” frameworks (Defourny et al., 2021). Thereby, it seeks to situate these enterprises within recognized frameworks and elucidate their hybrid identities.

Analyzing panel data from 2016 to 2020 for 259 GCSEs, this study uses tslearn for k-means clustering with dynamic time warping to assess their developmental trajectories and alignment with established SE models, which echoes the approach of Defourny et al. (2021). We probe the “fluid” identities of semi-public sector SEs, integrating Gordon’s (2013) notion that they tend to blend various SE traditions as opposed to existing in isolation.

Results indicate that GCSEs do align with prevalent SE frameworks. Furthermore, they represent a spectrum of SE models, suggesting the versatility of the public sector in fostering diverse types of SEs.

The concept of a semi-public sector SE model has been relatively uncharted, even though it holds significance for research on SE typologies and public sector entrepreneurship literature. This study bridges this gap by presenting empirical evidence of semi-public SEs and delineating the potential paths these enterprises might take as they amalgamate various SE traditions.

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.

This study examines the association between the use of a package of contemporary and a package of traditional management accounting practices with organizational change and organizational performance.

Data were collected based on a mail survey distributed to a sample of 740 public sector organizations.

The findings indicate that while the prevalence of traditional practices is still dominant, such practices were not associated with organizational change or performance. Rather, those organizations that use contemporary management accounting practices to a greater extent experienced greater change and stronger performance.

The findings suggest that contemporary management accounting practices can assist public sector practitioners in improving performance and promoting organizational change.

The study provides an empirical insight into the use and effectiveness of management accounting practices in the public sector. The study provides the first empirical analysis of the effect of using a package of management accounting practices in the public sector.