INTRODUCTION: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING, AUDITING AND INTERNAL CONTROLS

Abstract

Countries' national statistics institutions compile public finance statistics from national sources, notably from the financial accounting and reporting systems of public institutions. Therefore, the quality of public finance statistics is strongly dependent upon the quality and reliability of public sector accounting and auditing/internal control systems. Therefore, countries want to come to the forefront in terms of both comparability and accountability by minimizing the differences in accounting systems with other states and to provide timely and accurate information to users of the financial statements. Public sector accounting and internal control vary significantly between countries and different subsectors of government in a country. For example, some governments use cash accounting while others use accrual-based accounting. Also, the scope and content of financial statements varies across countries. The purpose of this book series is to collect relevant information on the existing public sector accounting and auditing practices for countries and preparing a comparative analysis of the practices of these countries; and to analyze the role of the public sector accounting and auditing/internal controls in the provision of information that would assist financially sustainable policy making, and thus assess the relevance of accounting frameworks in this process.