Pawan Adhikari

Dissemination and institutionalization of public sector accounting reforms in less developed countries: A comparative study of the Nepalese and Sri Lankan central governments

Abstract One of the major issues in the developing world today is the alleviation of poverty and it is acknowledged that public sector accounting has a key role to play in this through the effective allocation of resources. Implementing public sector accounting changes in developing nations has been a key agenda of international organizations since the 1980s. This study, drawing on the ideas of new institutionalism, strives to explore the implementation of public sector accounting reforms in two less developed countries (LDCs), namely Nepal and Sri Lanka. The empirical findings of the study demonstrate that, while internationally propagated public sector accounting reform ideas have not gone beyond the trial/proposal stage in Nepal, colonialism has bequeathed on Sri Lanka the promotion of accounting education and training, enabling the country to implement some of these reform ideas. However, increasing resistance to accounting changes at the lower administrative level, witnessed in both countries, indicates a need to understand the contexts of LDCs and to fulfil basic preconditions prior to disseminating/embarking on reforms there.

Exploring Russian central government accounting in its context

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to knowledge about Russian public sector accounting in times of change by exploring the emergence of a new way of accounting for Russian central government.Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, accounting is viewed as a social and institutional practice. A frame of reference guided by three theoretical perspectives is elaborated on. This troika incorporates a system approach to accounting, an accountability approach, and an institutional approach. Document search represents the major method of collecting data for this paper.Findings – This paper suggests that launching a nascent version of Russian central government accounting is better comprehended in terms of legitimacy rather than in terms of instrumentality.Research limitations/implications – This paper focuses on the appearance of up‐to‐date accounting provisions at macro‐level and does, therefore, have limitations with regard to scope. This makes it intellectually rewarding to link the cent...

The rise and fall of accruals: a case of Nepalese central government

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to trace the rise and fall of accruals in the Nepalese central government, contributing to the literature on accrual accounting by looking at the developments in developing countries.Design/methodology/approach – The ideas of institutional theory have provided a theoretical setting through which to trace the countrys journey toward the accrual basis of accounting. Document search and informal interviews represent the major methods of collecting data for this paper.Findings – The paper demonstrates that Nepal has been acquainted with the notion of accrual accounting since the late 1980s. The interest of international organizations and the involvement of professional accountants have been the two main factors driving this accrual accounting journey. The study also shows that the implementation of accrual accounting in the Nepalese central government has been an unsuccessful mission. This is why the notion of accrual accounting has been replaced by the improved version...

The adoption of ipsass in south asia: A comparative study of seven countries

Purpose – This empirical article aims at studying whether, how, and to what extent the South Asian countries have or are planning to move in the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) direction. Design/methodology/approach – By applying the institutional perspectives, the article seeks to explore the roles and contributions of international financial institutions in the dissemination of public sector accounting reform ideas, particularly IPSASs ideas in South Asia. Document search represents the major method of collecting data for this study. Findings – The present article demonstrates that the majority of the South Asian countries have envisaged the adoption of the cash basis IPSAS as a way forward in order to implement accrual accounting. International financial institutions have seemingly created a myth in the region that accrual accounting cannot be introduced without first complying with the cash basis IPSAS. However, the countries’ efforts are to a large extent directed at adapting rather than adopting IPSASs in all material respects. In relation to this, the article suggests that the acceptance of IPSASs in South Asia is better understood in terms of legitimacy. Research limitations/implications – It is beyond the scope of this article to cover the ongoing public sector accounting reforms in South Asia other than IPSASs reforms as well as to reveal accounting changes at other levels than central government level. Practical implications – The article raises doubts as to whether and to what extent the cash basis IPSAS will help public sector management reforms in South Asia. Originality/value – Given the paucity of consistent research efforts on the topic in Western English language literature, the present article strives to bring ongoing IPSASs reforms in South Asia into the international arena. The article also contributes to the growing body of the comparative public sector accounting research by presenting the similarities and differences in government accounting reforms, particularly IPSASs reforms, in South Asia.

Reforming central government accounting in diverse contexts: A three-country comparison

The purpose of this paper is to unravel similarities and differences across countries approaching the accrual accounting model, yet being situated in diverse institutional contexts. We tackle this by conducting a comparative study of accounting developments in three heterogeneous settings, namely Nepal, Norway, and Russia. The selection of settings is designed in a way to observe commonalities and variations in approaching accounting reforms between one of the poorest countries on earth, one of the richest nations, and one of the world’s growing superpowers. This study draws on institutional theory, particularly the DiMaggio and Powell’s (1983) idea of how organisations comply with institutional requirements in framing rules and practices. Document search represents the major method of collecting data. As our evidence shows, the institutional forces identified across the three settings were not of one single kind, but rather from segmented institutional environments.

A TWO-COUNTRY COMPARISON OF PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING REFORMS: SAME IDEAS, DIFFERENT PATHS?

A number of governments have already moved or intend to move from cash to accrual accounting. This has resulted in a growing body of comparative research in public sector accounting. Little work, however, has been devoted so far to investigating government accounting in developing and transitioning countries. This empirical paper seeks to contribute to this literature by conducting a seemingly unique two-country comparison of public sector accounting reforms in one developing nation and one in transition, namely Nepal and Russia. The study suggests that, although more or less the same rhetoric is used in the two settings, reforms have been framed rather differently due to the potency of various institutional pressures.

Implementing public sector accruals in OECD member states: Major issues and challenges

Abstract Drawing on extended new institutional theory, this paper has striven to make heard the voices of accountants, budget officers, and policy makers involved in implementing public sector accruals in different OECD member states. Such voices of the organisational actors and the challenges that they are encountering in the process of implementing accrual accounting and budgeting in their specific settings are missing in the existing public sector accruals literature. The empirical findings of the study demonstrate that the political and technical ambiguities in implementing public sector accruals across countries are much broader than outlined in the academic work and presented in the reports and studies of the proponents. Such challenges, when cascaded down to the organisational level, have brought about vast uncertainty and confusion amongst most of the budget and treasury officers who deal with public sector accruals in their specific jurisdictions, threatening the legitimacy at the organisational level. More communication and collaboration amongst the actors at institutional, organisational-field and organisational levels are therefore needed to build a coherent body of knowledge in facilitating public sector accruals reforms across countries.

Nepalese Governmental Accounting Development in the 1950s and Early 1960s: An Attempt to Institutionalize Expenditure Accounting

This paper aims at disseminating knowledge about the evolution of expenditure accounting in the government of Nepal. In doing so, the paper examines emerging ideas in the aftermath of the political change of 1951 in Nepal, and traces the processes of development and institutionalization of expenditure accounting during the course of two decades, the 1950s and early 1960s, with particular reference to the institutional forces at work. An interesting feature of Nepalese accounting reforms before and after the political change was the active participation of India, the United Nations, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). At the outset of the post-Rana period, Indian advisors dominated the reform process and helped Nepal introduce and incorporate a range of modern administrative measures, including a new budgeting structure called line-item budgeting. The external influence on Nepals reforms and the ways of installing new values in the administration altered in the second half of the 19...

‘Agents-in-focus’ and ‘Agents-in-context’: The strong structuration analysis of central government accounting practices and reforms in Nepal

Abstract Drawing on Stones’ (2005) strong structuration theory, the paper unfolds why and how the key stakeholders of central government accounting in Nepal are involved in the reproduction of routinised accounting practices, resisting the externally-propagated changes. Government accountants (the agents-in-focus) through their capability to control the budget routines have enjoyed a powerful social position in their position–practice relations with the agents-in-context, i.e. professional accountants and international consultants, higher-level officers and administrators, auditors, and politicians. Social position along with historically-imbued dispositions and their conduct and context analysis have enabled government accountants to strategically exercise their agency. Government accountants have articulated duality and a dialectic relation with the agents-in-context, which have resulted in the reproduction of everyday accounting practice and the resistance to the World Bank-led reforms, such as accrual accounting and, more recently, the Cash-Basis IPSAS.

Diffusion of the Cash Basis International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) in Less Developed Countries (LDCs) – The Case of the Nepali Central Government

Abstract Purpose 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. Methodology/approach 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. Findings 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. Research limitations 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. Originality/value 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.