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Without `Reinventing the Wheel‘: Business Accounting Applied to the Public Sector

Without `Reinventing the Wheel‘: Business Accounting Applied to the Public Sector This article considers why a business accounting model was applied in an early adoption of public‐sector accrual accounting. The history of that change shows that large private‐sector consulting firms were active in the promotion and implementation of a commercial model of public‐sector accrual accounting. It is argued here that the consulting firms' actions are best understood using concepts of mimetic isomorphism and the interplay between self‐interest and perceived public interest. They formed an epistemic community in which self‐interest was present but with a zealous belief that private‐sector accounting was an inherently righteous objective for the public sector. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian Accounting Review Wiley

Without `Reinventing the Wheel‘: Business Accounting Applied to the Public Sector

Christensen, Mark
Australian Accounting Review , Volume 13 (30) – Jul 1, 2003
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6 pages

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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
2003 CPA Australia
ISSN
1035-6908
eISSN
1835-2561
DOI
10.1111/j.1835-2561.2003.tb00396.x
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This article considers why a business accounting model was applied in an early adoption of public‐sector accrual accounting. The history of that change shows that large private‐sector consulting firms were active in the promotion and implementation of a commercial model of public‐sector accrual accounting. It is argued here that the consulting firms' actions are best understood using concepts of mimetic isomorphism and the interplay between self‐interest and perceived public interest. They formed an epistemic community in which self‐interest was present but with a zealous belief that private‐sector accounting was an inherently righteous objective for the public sector.

Journal

Australian Accounting Review – Wiley

Published: Jul 1, 2003

References

  • Public‐sector Accounting: A Common Reporting Framework? A Rejoinder
    Barton, Barton
  • Institutional Theory and Accounting Rule Choice: An Analysis of Four US State Governments' Decisions to Adopt Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
    Carpenter, Carpenter; Feroz, Feroz
  • Accrual Accounting in the Public Sector: The Case of the New South Wales Government
    Christensen, Christensen
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    DiMaggio, DiMaggio; Powell, Powell
  • Extending Practice: Accountants' Constructions of the Industrial Relations Arena in the USA
    Fogarty, Fogarty; Radcliffe, Radcliffe
  • The ‘New Public Management’ in the 1980s: Variations on a Theme
    Hood, Hood
  • Transforming the Public Sector: Management Consultants as Agents of Change
    Lapsley, Lapsley; Oldfield, Oldfield
  • The Professionalization of Accountancy: A History of Protecting the Public Interest in a Self‐interested Way
    Lee, Lee
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    Pallot, Pallot
  • Historiography for the New Millennium: Adventures in Accounting and Management
    Parker, Parker
  • Financial Accounting Reforms in the Australian Public Sector
    Potter, Potter
  • Government Focuses on the Big Picture
    Soh, Soh