New development: Transparency in the public sector

Abstract

The sovereign debt crisis has emphasized the seriousness of the results of poor financial management and financial reporting. Financial reporting failure in the private sector earlier this century led to dramatic action. Although there have been widespread reporting failures in the public sector , there have been very few strong calls for action. This article looks at what is being done internationally to ensure high-quality accounting by governments, particularly solutions from the accounting profession.

Keywords:

• Accounting reform
• financial reporting in the public sector
• international accounting standards
• public sector governance
• transparency

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ian Ball

Ian Ball is CEO of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), New York, USA.