The academic voice in the EPSAS project

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates how much of a voice academics have had to date in the development of the European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS). The authors found that the role of academics has been minimal. This situation deprives standard-setting of being informed by empirical research which is considered to be unbiased, rigorously crafted, grounded in the theory and can better legitimate the standards. The paper offers an original analysis of the process used by the EC for the harmonization of public sector accounting and explains why academic involvement in standard-setting is so important.

IMPACT

The paper analyses the development of the European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS) for the harmonization of public sector accounting in the European Union. The authors offer insights to the policy-makers, the standard-setters, and other key actors in the process on how academia can support them in the design of strategies for developing standards.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic voice
• accounting standards
• European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS)
• harmonization
• standard-setting process