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Book part
Publication date: 18 January 2021

Gonca Güngör Göksu and Serdar Dumlupinar

In this study, various acts including regulations of public financial management, fiscal responsibility, and state budget in the selected six countries were subjected to different…

Abstract

In this study, various acts including regulations of public financial management, fiscal responsibility, and state budget in the selected six countries were subjected to different readability tests, and an international comparison was made. The fiscal responsibility act of six countries – Turkey, the UK, India, Australia, Canada, and Pakistan – were included in the study and analyzed. Each country was analyzed under its official language. Since English is an official language of all of the countries except for Turkey, the authors have evaluated the fiscal responsibility acts of these countries using the following readability tests: Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning-Fog, and Dale-Chall. Additionally, Public Financial Management and Control Law No. 5018 approved in Turkey was analyzed by the Ateşman Readability Test which was uniquely designed for Turkish grammar rules. The acts discussed in the study were analyzed not only as a whole but also in parts and subsections. According to the results of the study, the levels of readability of the existing laws in most of the selected countries are very difficult to understand for a university graduate. However, when the readability level of the British Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act tested as parts and subsections and a whole, it was rated at a level a university student could understand. This study analyses the readability and intelligibility of acts related to fiscal responsibility and the state budget in six selected countries, adopting Anglo-Saxon public administration model and making an inter-country evaluation. Since it is important that citizens have enough information about legislation for a citizen-oriented understanding, a legislation system that is understood by the larger part of the society is essential.

Details

Contemporary Issues in Public Sector Accounting and Auditing
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-508-5

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Abstract

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Governing for the Future: Designing Democratic Institutions for a Better Tomorrow
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-056-5

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Public Policy and Governance Frontiers in New Zealand
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-455-7

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2003

Susan Newberry and June Pallot

This article explains the structures and rules built into the New Zealand government’s financial management system which encourage entry into commitments such as public private…

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Abstract

This article explains the structures and rules built into the New Zealand government’s financial management system which encourage entry into commitments such as public private partnerships. That the system provides a means of escape from the tight constraints imposed by fiscal targets, and escapes public and parliamentary scrutiny in the process, seems at odds with espoused objectives of fiscal responsibility, debt reduction and transparency. In terms of furthering a privatization agenda, however, it is highly logical.

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Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 18 January 2021

Abstract

Details

Contemporary Issues in Public Sector Accounting and Auditing
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-508-5

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1996

David Shand

This article surveys budgetary reforms in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, which have aimed both at reducing budget deficits and…

113

Abstract

This article surveys budgetary reforms in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, which have aimed both at reducing budget deficits and improving public sector performance.(1) It discusses the pressures giving rise to these reforms, recent trends in reducing deficits and the changes to budgetary processes adopted by various countries. Brief reference is also made to changes in expenditure programs. In some OECD Member countries, changes to budgetary processes have been part of an overall program of reform in public sector management. While there are differences of emphasis between countries, there is considerable convergence toward establishing new budgetary processes which have multi-year approach, provide for greater budgetary devolution to ministries and agencies and focus more on managing the performance of government organizations and programs.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2017

Solabomi Omobola Ajibolade and Collins Sankay Oboh

The purpose of this paper is to attempt an empirical examination of government budgeting and expenditure processes in Nigeria, a developing country. It examines the current state…

1139

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to attempt an empirical examination of government budgeting and expenditure processes in Nigeria, a developing country. It examines the current state of budgeting and public funds management (PFM) in Nigeria. It also examines the extent to which the government has used the budgetary mechanism to effectively manage the nation’s economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper employed simple regression estimation technique for data analysis. Time series data set of budgetary information was constructed from different archival sources over a 16-years period (2000-2015), majorly the national Appropriation Acts, press releases, regulatory and governmental reports, reports of Transparency International, World Bank and Central Intelligence Agency.

Findings

The findings confirm that the nation’s annual budgeting approach is defective and lags in achieving its fiscal objectives. The budget indicates a state of poor accountability and transparency in PFM. Findings also suggest that the level of economic development in Nigeria is not commensurate with the size of government expenditure.

Practical implications

The paper draws the attention of the government to the need to restructure its approach to budgeting and adopt a more resilient approach that suits its environment and economic peculiarities in effort to ensure efficient management and accountability of public funds. The paper also offers value to other developing countries. It provides empirical evidence that explains an aspect why the African continent remains underdeveloped hitherto.

Originality/value

This paper lends a voice to the call for a restructuring of the Nigerian budgetary system and its implementation strategy. It advocates for the adoption of an alternative budgeting approach that matches Nigeria economic realities. The paper demonstrated that the traditional budgetary approach being used by many developing countries is limited in certain ways and could hinder sustainable development.

Details

International Journal of Public Leadership, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4929

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Article
Publication date: 31 July 2007

Sheila Ellwood and Susan Newberry

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of public sector accounting in implementing neoliberal reforms.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of public sector accounting in implementing neoliberal reforms.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposition that the adoption and development of accrual accounting in the public sector is a technical development intended to improve transparency and accountability is investigated. The paper compares the development and use of accrual accounting in public sector financial management reforms in the UK and New Zealand.

Findings

The findings in this paper suggest that in both countries, accrual accounting, as developed, also provides a means to reduce the government's role to that of procurer of services and enforcer of rules set by others, thus advancing a controversial privatisation and trade liberalisation agenda which is consistent with neo‐liberal principles.

Research limitations/implications

The paper shows that in contrast to more usual claims about the need for accrual accounting to provide a “read across between the sectors” or that public interest motives assure the neutrality of accounting, seemingly technical accrual accounting developments seem to function as a political tool to aid a controversial political agenda. There is a need to look at the overall effect of public sector financial management reforms and the role of, and implications for, accounting standard‐setters.

Originality/value

The information in the paper applies to accounting the new political economics literature on agenda control and information based structures where control is achieved through information asymmetries.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 20 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

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Abstract

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Public Policy and Governance Frontiers in New Zealand
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-455-7

Article
Publication date: 10 November 2020

Ian Ball

The New Zealand Government has progressively strengthened its balance sheet position since the mid-1990s, other than for the four years immediately following the global financial…

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Abstract

Purpose

The New Zealand Government has progressively strengthened its balance sheet position since the mid-1990s, other than for the four years immediately following the global financial crisis and the Canterbury earthquakes. This paper describes the nature and the forecast and actual fiscal impacts of the COVID-19 response, and identifies the transparency mechanisms which reveal these impacts. It also expresses a viewpoint on the implications of the COVID-19 response for the future resilience of the Government's fiscal position.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on the suite of official budgetary documents to demonstrate both the transparency of the disclosures on the COVID-19 impact and the substance of the forecast and actual fiscal impacts.

Findings

The paper reveals the change in the long-term fiscal aspirations of the New Zealand Government from one of achieving and maintaining a significant net worth buffer, to one which accommodates in the long-term a markedly smaller buffer and lower level of net worth.

Originality/value

The public financial management system in New Zealand is notable for its transparency. The Government's response to the pandemic is used to illustrate the nature and extent of that transparency.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Keywords

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