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This book considers how the practical and public policy relevance
of research might be increased, and academics and practitioners can
better engage to define research agendas and deliver findings
relevant to accounting and accountability in the public services.
To do so, an international comparative analysis of the
research-practice gap in public sector accounting has been
undertaken. This involved academic perspectives from over twenty
countries, and practitioner perspectives from leading international
professional accounting bodies actively involved in the public
services arena. It was found that research is valued for informing
practice, but engaging at a high level of policy engagement has
been primarily by a small group of experienced researchers. For
other researchers the impact accomplished may not always be valued
highly in the academic community relative to other, more scholarly,
activities. The book therefore looks at how engagement and impact
between academics and practitioners can be increased.
How we manage public services and hold them to account is
critically important. Yet austerity, recent changes to
accountability frameworks, and the loss of the Audit Commission
have created a huge deficit in our understanding of how well
services are delivered. The time is thus right to re-examine the
state of our vital public services, as well as how we can make them
more accountable. This book reopens the debate on what
accountability means and provides unique insights into an
increasingly complex organizational landscape. It presents a new
and innovative way of evaluating public services that should be of
use to academics and public servants alike. Synthesising empirical
work across local government, health and social care, the police,
and fire services, this book also explores the relationship between
financial and performance accountability and makes the case for the
need for a distinctive sense of public service accountability.
Public spending accounts for a significant share of national GDP
and is perceived as a critically important way for overcoming
periods of economic and social crisis, but is often criticised as
inefficient and ineffective, giving raise to calls for new
processes of reform. Because most public resources are raised
through taxation from citizens and businesses, accountability and
assurance are key in the democratic process, and auditing attempts
to fulfil this public interest role. This in turn leaves public
sector auditing under increasing public scrutiny and political
pressure. Through a comparative analysis of the development of
auditing practices in governments across the globe, Auditing
Practices in Local Governments: An International Comparison
provides a contemporary overview of public sector auditing
practices at both local and state level. By focusing on countries
which have experienced differing implementation processes, and
which are characterised by different administrative and political
cultures, the authors provide a comparative analysis of countries
across the globe, including major European states, China,
Australia, and New Zealand. Written by scholars and practitioners
in the fields of public sector auditing, this first volume of
Emerald Studies in Public Service Accounting and Accountability
provides readers both researchers and practitioners with a thorough
overview of international public sector auditing practice.
How we manage public services and hold them to account is
critically important. Yet austerity, recent changes to
accountability frameworks, and the loss of the Audit Commission
have created a huge deficit in our understanding of how well
services are delivered. The time is thus right to re-examine the
state of our vital public services, as well as how we can make them
more accountable. This book reopens the debate on what
accountability means and provides unique insights into an
increasingly complex organizational landscape. It presents a new
and innovative way of evaluating public services that should be of
use to academics and public servants alike. Synthesising empirical
work across local government, health and social care, the police,
and fire services, this book also explores the relationship between
financial and performance accountability and makes the case for the
need for a distinctive sense of public service accountability.
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