The Diffusion of Accounting Innovations in the New Public Sector as Influenced by IMF Reforms

Abstract

This paper aims to explain the diffusion of management accounting innovations within the public sector in Jordan as influenced by IMF reforms. It is concerned with the diffusion of management accounting systems viewed as a process of actor-network building and translation. The paper presents an interpretive case study by drawing on Actor-Network Theory (ANT). The aim is to better understand the nature of accounting systems. The study recognizes that accounting innovations in Public Financial Management over the last decade were central to the rise of the New Public Management (NPM) doctrine and its associated ideas of Results Based Management (RBM) and public accountability, of which accounting is a key element. The study also concludes that the diffusion process implied three isomorphic interests; i.e. it created pressure for similar reforms and structural changes in many governmental aspects, especially the ways of thinking and doing. It thus provides a discernible conclusion through exploring the processes of accounting change as influenced by the tenets of ANT. Like Chua (1995), it has examined accounting change as a process of ‘fabrication'. Accounting innovations are constructions (Andon et al., 2007), often built on a wide array of social, economic and political factors. There have been several studies of the public sector transformation following IMF reforms but this paper has a different focus: the diffusion and adoption of management accounting systems within the new public sector. The paper discusses the findings of an interpretive case study, which is Ministry of Finance (MOF) in Jordan. The results of the study indicate that diffusion and adopting of accounting innovations by MOF is largely affected by the government influence, and these innovations usually occurred “beyond the enterprise” as well as within it. The study contributes to both accounting literature and Actor-Network Theory by providing more understanding and explanation about the dynamics of accounting innovations in the public sector. This paper has interesting findings, but also points to the need for more studies about the diffusion of accounting innovations in the public sector.