ACCA官网新闻ARE WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTS WORTH THE TIME AND EXPENSE...

ARE WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTS  WORTH THE TIME AND EXPENSE? ASKS  PIONEERING ACCA RESEARCH

The first in-depth review is underway on whether a move by governments around the world to report their spending as a single consolidated set of figures is worth the time and effort. The work is being carried out by Durham University research teams commissioned by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

A great deal of professional time and public money have been spent on developing Whole of Government Accounts (WGAs) since they arose as part of new public management reforms, which were popular with governments in the 1980s and 1990s.

While WGAs have been promoted as encouraging greater transparency and accountability by setting out single bottom line figures for what the public sector owns and owes, little is known about how useful these consolidated reports are to a range of users.

The first part of the research commissioned by ACCA is looking at the literature on the use of government consolidated accounts across the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Sweden to explore whether they are making their activities and spending more transparent and essential users are getting the information they need.

The key findings of the initial research suggest that while governments believe that consolidated accounts will be of benefit – they have yet to convince potential users - including many in government.

• In Australia it was found that financial markets, credit ratings agencies and analysts make little use of WGAs.
• In New Zealand, which has a long history of consolidated accrual-based WGAs since the early 1990s public sector reforms, there is recent robust research on user perceptions of the quality of WGAs; and interest is high in the current shift from International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) for WGAs.
• In the UK the available literature was found to focus on how WGAs could be used, rather than on their usefulness.
• In Canada, government-wide consolidated financial statements is mainly used for accountability reporting to Parliament and are not used , or perceived useful , for managerial planning, decision-making and control purposes.     
  

The second part of the research, which is now underway, will look at the pressures that each of the governments face in producing consolidated accounts and why they are doing it. The research will also identify who uses WGAs and how they are affected by the changes in approach which may be adopted as a result of a change in political power along with institutional changes.

Gillian Fawcett, Head of the Public Sector with ACCA, said:  'Governments are focusing on producing consolidated reports for users they assume will be interested. But to date, there has not been any research into who really uses the reports and what information they actually need.

'Equally, nobody can be sure whether the end-users of government accounts are able to understand and interpret them and are therefore able to demand change where it is needed. This ongoing research aims to identify those users and ask them what they really want from government accounts. Anyone who wishes to contribute to that research can contact me at gillian.fawcett@accaglobal.com' said Gillian Fawcett.   

Dr Danny Chow of Durham University, who is leading the research, said: 'There is little academic literature or research on the use of consolidated public sector accounts - despite its importance - and is only emerging for some countries such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand.  We believe that may be because there have been problems in speaking to core decision makers and because it has been overshadowed by other issues in public sector reforms. This research aims to get to the heart of the issue of whether consolidated accounting meets the real world needs of those who could and should be using them.'   

-ENDS-FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Colin Davis, ACCA Newsroom
tel: +44 (0)20 7059 5738
mob: +44 (0)7720 347713
Twitter @ACCANews
colin.davis@accaglobal.com

Notes to Editors

• ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.
• We support our 170,000 members and 436,000 students in 180 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. We work through a network of 91 offices and centres and more than 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through our public interest remit, we promote appropriate regulation of accounting and conduct relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.
• Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. We believe that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We seek to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating our qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.