Public Sector Accounting

This book is about government budgeting, accounting and auditing technique, from an accountant's perspective, in the context of the nature of government, governance and public management, public finance and public money. It deals with the distinctive challenges of performance measurement, budgets and budgetary control, costing, financial reporting and conceptual frameworks, and special issues of audit in the public sector. Generic examples are used throughout the book to illustrate the issues involved. This edition is very different from previous editions in reflecting the fundamental changes in public sector accounting over the past generation, including a narrowing of the differences between government and business accounting. Public Sector Accounting is the ideal choice for any student needing a clear, concise guide to the key issues of this complex, topical subject. About the Authors Rowan Jones is Professor of Public Sector Accounting at the University of Birmingham Maurice Pendlebury is Emeritus Professor of Accounting at Cardiff University. Public Sector Accounting uses an integrated approach to the study of public sector accounting by linking accounting theory and practice for each of the main areas of financial accounting, management accounting and auditing. Examples from a range of Public Sector experiences are woven into the text to illustrate the issues involved. The introduction of the book reflects managerial developments in the public sector, by giving a brief history of these in the UK and internationally then commenting on the adoption of quality assurance in the public sector. The management accounting section discusses developments in the use of internal markets and compulsory competition and the more recent emphasis on public-private partnership and performance indicators and also explains the techniques of programme and zero-based budgeting and investment appraisal. The financial accounting section updates and internationalises the discussion of financial accounting theory and regulation. The final section of the book is on auditing has been updated with UK and international developments.