New development: Governmental accounting reforms in Latin America. The case of the municipality of Medellín, Colombia

ABSTRACT

Government accounting reforms in Medellín (Colombia) were promoted with the adoption of New Public Management principles. The reforms began by introducing accrual accounting, using this financial information for decision-making and, finally, adopting international standardization and comparability. This article shows how and why the government of Medellín modernized its public financial management systems to achieve transparency, accountability and efficiency.

IMPACT

This article will be of value to practitioners by showing how one major city, Medellín in Colombia, has carefully modernized its accounting and financial reporting and management. The author also identifies important challenges arising from the business governance model being adopted by public sector entities. This model reduces the political and social aspects of city governance; instead, it positions cities as a fundamental part of the global economic system. The article highlights that one of the challenges of government accounting reforms is to broaden its spectrum to incorporate logic consistent with public responsibility, rather than focusing solely on business logic.

KEYWORDS:

• Accounting reforms
• governmental accounting
• Medellín
• New Public Management

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).