Tracing changes in central government accounting: a case of Rússia

Exploring Russian central government accounting in its context

“…This confirms that Russian central government accounting was designed for the recording of data and involved as such a strong compliance orientation, the main task being to measure and communicate actual spending versus authorizations, and not to provide information for fiscal management. Government accounting was recognized on a modified cash basis to record the varying economic transactions, tracking the record of receipts and disbursements in relation to the budget (Timoshenko, 2008). Next, although other internal and external users were recognized in the text of the instruction, the reports produced were intended to be useful, first and foremost, to the Russian Council of Ministers and the Federal Assembly, which were regarded as the primary users of accounting information to help the government manage the macro‐economy.…”

A two-country comparison of public sector accounting reforms: Same ideas, different paths?

“…Consequently, the public sector reform process has no longer remained an internal practice within the government, as was the case before. Indeed, rather than being circumscribed to learning from their own experience, the Russian policy makers have chosen a more adaptive attitude and welcomed the experience of others (Timoshenko, 2006(Timoshenko, , 2008. The evidence presented in this study suggests that accrual accounting along with other up-to-date budgeting techniques was dispatched as a symbol of sound fiscal management practices to Russian government officials.…”

“…Demands for greater efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency in Russian public administration began to be widely echoed, enunciating a new era of accounting transition after 2003. A series of nascent financial initiatives were embarked on in the country, signalizing a clear-cut shift in the ideology of Russian public administration (Timoshenko, 2008). The importance of these efforts could hardly be emphasized enough as they were set down in the Concept of the Budget Process Reform for , endorsed by Cabinet Resolution # 249 on May 22, 2004.…”

“…This led to a new detailed pattern of central government accounting and budgetary provisions largely reminiscent of its predecessor. The state of Russia appeared to be the only institutional pressure steering all changes in the content of accounting norms during the 1990s (Timoshenko, 2008).…”

“…As far as the Russian state is concerned, mimetic isomorphic pressures may have acted along with normative and coercive ones. As Timoshenko (2008) pointed out, this may stem from a plethora of international agencies and departments worldwide (the EU, DFID, USAID, the Swedish Ministry of Finance, etc. ), which all have been somehow embedded in the transformation process.…”