Setting International Public-Sector Accounting Standards: Does ‘Public’ Matter? The Case of Revenue from Non-Exchange Transactions

Abstract

This paper investigates accounting for non-exchange revenue, an issue which has a strong relevance in public sector accounting, but which is rarely encountered in the private sector. The IPSASB consultation paper ‘Accounting for Revenue and Non-exchange Expenses’ is analyzed to illustrate that the specificities of the public sector are not necessarily taken into account when developing public sector accounting standards. Our analysis is informed by literature on the political nature of accrual accounting in public sector entities. The paper highlights the territorializing role of the IPSASB, the mediating role attributable to the consultation paper, and the potential adjudicating and subjectivizing roles of a future public sector accounting standard on revenue recognition.

Keywords:

• non-exchange revenue
• IPSASB Conceptual Framework
• accrual accounting
• public sector accounting

ORCID

Marco Bisogno http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3155-2919

Notes

1 Ouda (2016) provides a description of IPSASB standards on revenue recognition, including some comparative assessment with regulations in Australia and New Zealand and calls for the re-shaping of recognition principles towards practice-relevant features of the public sector. Bergmann and Fuchs (2017) provide an analysis of revenue recognition practices adopted by United Nations international organizations. Voluntary non-exchange contributions represent the majority of total revenue, but the level of voluntary contributions does not explain the reported level of liabilities.