Abstract
The present paper seeks to elaborate a framework for investigating public sector (government) accounting in terms of its relationship with the traditional budget. Indeed, a global shift towards a more accountable public sector under the banner of New Public Management in general and accrual accounting in particular is somehow expected to encroach on this relationship, gaining a strong impetus to research it. By employing a conceptual framework for what accountants do or are anticipated to do, we first examine accounting as a system of interrelated elements. We then turn our attention to exploring the nature of the relationship between the budget and accounting in the light of the machine metaphor. Thereafter, some empirical evidence on the topic is succinctly reviewed as reflected in the literature. We end this paper by posing some questions to be addressed in future studies.
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Viewing accounting as a system is not confined to one discussed in this paper. For example, Bergevärn et al. [6] suggest to divide accounting in action into two systems – a norm system and an action system. The latter can further be elaborated and classified into two sub-systems, namely a practice sub-system and a use sub-system. This distinction is, however, beyond the scope of the present research.
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Timoshenko, K., Kuruppu, C., Badshah, I., Ambalangodage, D. (2020). A Systems Approach to Comprehend Public Sector (Government) Accounting. In: Antipova, T. (eds) Integrated Science in Digital Age. ICIS 2019. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 78. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22493-6_6
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