Editorial – a plea for changing directions of public sector accounting research in emerging economies

The future of public sector accounting research. A polyphonic debate

“…More recently, van Helden et al (2021) identified a lack of limited accounting research on the ways in which different accounting technologies have been involved in state-led developments. Instead, extant work has mostly covered the NPM-driven market-led development discourses in which accounting technologies such as accrual accounting and IPSASs, long-term budgeting and performance reporting and auditing have served as key technical tools through which to improve governance and accountability and facilitate economic advancement (van Helden et al , 2021; Kuruppu et al , 2021). Crucially, the implementation of these accounting reforms in emerging economies has not proceeded as intended.…”

“…Concerns have also been raised about methodological issues and the need to promote the use of mixed methods, which would enable researchers to shed light on the efficacy of existing practices, as well as the factors triggering the large-scale reforms (van Helden et al, 2021;Kuruppu et al, 2021). Jayasinghe et al (2021aJayasinghe et al ( , 2021b argued that the application of content analysis and the disclosure scoring framework, along with semistructured interviews, has enabled them to demonstrate both the existing practices and ongoing reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa; engendering such comprehensive insights into government accounting is claimed to be challenging without the application of mixed methods.…”

“…There is an understanding that development has become more of an analytical context than a context-specific phenomenon. As is the case with regard to publicness (Steccolini, 2019;Bracci et al, 2021), claims have therefore been made that, by rethinking development, PSAR situated in emerging economies could avoid an encounter with international organisations in the evolving post-Covid era and show how accounting is implicated in wider social issues, which have a direct bearing on people's well-being, including resilience building, co-production, creating public value and addressing climate change and other wicked problems (Kuruppu et al, 2021;van Helden et al, 2021;Polzer et al, 2022aPolzer et al, , 2022bAdhikari and Jayasinghe, 2022). As discussed in wider contexts (Steccolini, 2019), these initiatives would also enable PSA researchers to promote interdisciplinary studies in emerging economies, as well as to contribute to policymaking.…”

Pursuing Big Issues in Covid-World Accounting Research

“…At the level of public sector organisational governance, research has begun to reveal a disempowerment of organisational boards who often find themselves excluded from any strategic role, unclear about to whom and for what they are accountable, and frequently can have their prerogatives and decisions overridden by ministerial intervention (Heald & Steel, 2018;Hyndman & McKillop, 2018;Kuruppu et al, 2021). From an accounting and performance management perspective, NPM and its focus pose significant challenges including responding to a wide range of stakeholders with varying needs and agendas, assessing the priority dimensions of performance that may not easily be measured, calculating quality of service and outcomes, and the dysfunctional impacts of a private sector metrics focus that include goal displacement, tunnel vision, mission drift and more (Hyndman & McKillop, 2018).…”

“…Also responding to the international environment, public sector research in developing countries has emerged and promises to deliver lessons for both developed and developing countries. Issues of local/national cultures, institutions, politics and social networks raise significant questions for developed country consultants and researchers who assume international standards and developing county practices can be imposed without reference to the local context (Kuruppu et al, 2021;Masum & Parker, 2020). All of the above research issues can contribute to our better understanding and preparing public sector organisations to develop the financial resilience and ability to withstand the exogenous shocks from national and international crises (Kuruppu et al, 2021).…”