New development: The limits of business accounting in the public sector context—the case of concessionary leases and right-of-use assets in-kind

Abstract

IMPACT Public sector accounting developments have been mainly driven by reforms and innovations developed in the private sector. There is a growing trend internationally to adapt private sector accounting standards to the public sector context. However, there are some transactions that simply do not resemble private criteria. This article reflects on two of these—concessionary leases and right-of-use assets in-kind. Importantly, the use of market values in these cases may result in financial statements that could mislead the user. The article provides interesting insights for practitioners and standard-setting boards, who need to be aware of the risks when adapting accrual accounting principles to public sector entities.