Implementing IFRSs in the public sector: caveats from a case in the UK

Abstract

This article assesses the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) in the United Kingdom public sector. Possible motivations for the move are suggested before presenting the findings of interviews with, and a survey of, key personnel. The primary issues discussed are the rationale, challenges and costs associated with implementing IFRSs. The article concludes that the policy appears to have been implemented against a backdrop of indeterminate benefits and to be a continuation of New Public Management-style reforms with their emphasis on public sector professionalization and the language of accountancy.

Keywords:

• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)
• New Public Management (NPM)
• professionalization
• public sector
• resource accounting

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Miss Xiujuan Song for her assistance in the early stages of this article.

Notes

* For all references to IFRSs, International Accounting Standards (IASs) and International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC), see International Accounting Standards Board (2010).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ciaran Connolly

Ciaran Connolly is a senior lecturer in accounting at Queen's University, Belfast, UK.

Anthony Wall

Anthony Wall is a senior lecturer at the Ulster Business School, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, UK.