The main challenges of Public Sector Accounting reforms and World Bank's Public Sector Accounting and Reporting (PULSAR) Program

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to contribute to a dialogue between practitioners and academics. The article discusses the relevance of Public Sector Accounting (PSA) reforms, including their key approaches and challenges, and the role of the World Bank's Public Sector Accounting and Reporting (PULSAR) Program.Design/methodology/approachThis is a practitioner's viewpoint, which reflects World Bank and PULSAR Program's publicly available documents and the opinions of a practitioner involved in the implementation of PSA reforms.FindingsImplementation of PSA reforms, based on the good international standards and practices, such as International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), represents an opportunity for governments to significantly improve (1) the quality, reliability and comparability of their financial information; (2) decision-making process of the high-level public officials; and (3) the overall levels of fiscal transparency and public sector accountability and performance. There are several main approaches of the PSA reform implementation that could be observed across the globe. In practice, many countries and different jurisdictions face multiple challenges associated with PSA reform implementation. The World Bank and PULSAR Program in particular represent a valuable source of knowledge generation and sharing, and also acts as a catalyst for promoting PSA reforms in beneficiary countries.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of this article (which are also its strength in terms of fitness for purpose) are that as a practitioner's viewpoint, it provides a brief overview and personal judgements rather than an empirical analysis of developments applying a theoretical framework.Social implicationsA practitioner's engagement with academic supports increased understanding of the respective views leading to better outcomes for practitioners and academics working in the area of public sector accounting.Originality/valueThe article provides a practitioner's input on the relevance of PSA reforms and their key challenges.