PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review and critique the field of public sector accounting research. Many nation states deliver essential public services. In recent times, many of these nations have been involved in programmes of “modernisation”, which, in part, means that these public services now are significantly managed, delivered and governed by private and third sector organisations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a literature‐based analysis and critique of public sector accounting articles published in the selected journals from 1992 to 2006. From this, a descriptive meta‐analysis of the characteristics of the research will be discussed. Finally, a conceptual analysis of the selected literature will be used to evaluate the field and address a possible future research agenda.FindingsThe descriptive analysis highlights that among the research papers reviewed several interesting patterns emerged concerning public service research. Also, the dominance of Australasia and UK research was noted. The extent of research in different levels of government/jurisdiction indicated that the majority of research was organisationally based. Finally, when the various functional types of accounting are considered, management accounting remained the most researched area of interest.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper only considered research within eight selected journals and over the period 1992 to 2006. Therefore, for instance, US mainstream public sector accounting research has not been reviewed.Originality/valueThe main implications of the paper are that “contextual” public service accounting research has a strong tradition and, through the process of reflection and critique of the body of work, several important insights are provided in order to highlight areas for further research and policy development.

No abstract

Reviews some recent contributions to “alternative” accounting research in relation to the changes which have taken place in the public sector, and which have altered the structure of the sector. An important task for the authors therefore has been to define what they view as comprising the public sector. Concludes that there is still a paucity of research in this domain. There are huge opportunities, and great need, for evaluative work and international comparisons. There is also a need to focus on different phases in the institutional financial cycle. Raises series of questions about the emergence of the “new” accounting and the ways in which it is institutionalized and maintained.

No abstract

Management Control Systems are intended to affect behaviour of people within organisations in order to ensure that particular aims and objectives are achieved. This paper considers the Management Control Systems that are developed for the management of research within universities. A key purpose is to explore the internal control systems developed to manage research within university UK Business and Management Schools, in response to externally imposed Management Control Systems. The paper considers the Research Excellence Framework and the previous Research Assessment Exercises as externally imposed Management Control Systems and examines university organisational reactions to this. The paper builds on previous literature that has identified perverse outcomes from the use of performance management systems (a particular form of management control) within organisations. It analyses the resistance and coping strategies that result from the imposition of a measurement system. In particular, the paper considers the extent to which academics have developed their own measurement strategies and raises the possibility that these contribute to even greater control over individual academics. The paper draws on Bourdieu's concept of "symbolic violence" to demonstrate how individual attitudes and behaviour may contribute to the use of dysfunctional management control systems. The paper offers a research agenda for empirically investigating these issues further.