State of play on whole of government accounting
PMM published a new "theme" today as a collection. We will publish the articles in 2025 in a journal issue. Edited by Elaine Stewart and Ciaran Conolly from Queen's University Belfast the theme was motivated by a new development piece published in PMM on the topic of whole of government accounts (WGA), the UK’s version of public sector consolidated accounts, to coincide with the publication of the 10th set of WGA. The call for papers for this PMM theme included the following quotation from Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations:
Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule.
As the editors explain: "This statement by Dickens’ character Mr Jaggers stresses the importance of reaching conclusions based on evidence rather than sentiment, and a common thread of the articles included in this PMM theme is the need to focus on data not perception when assessing the value of implementing accruals accounting and whole of government accounting in the public sector".
The result is a comprehensive collection of international articles which provide insights into how and why governments need consolidated accounts.
Elaine and Ciaran sum up their theme:
"For now, public sector consolidated accounting remains a great expectation with unfulfilled potential. However, optimistically, it has potential value if the information can be published in a timelier manner and in a format or language that is accessible to non-accountants. As artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, and our understanding of them, evolve, this may transform the work of the accounting function by enabling the application of different types of AI (for example machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing) to improve reporting efficiency, albeit recognizing AI’s limitations, the need for training and the implementation of controls to ensure its responsible use. The adoption of AI by government is a considerable operation and presents opportunities for further research into, for example, how countries are embracing AI in accounting and reporting, including the challenges and how these can be addressed, together with the implementation of ethical principles and governance frameworks (for example accountability, data protection and professional responsibility)".
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Great expectations – whole of government accounting: an international perspective is here:
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I help people to understand how govt spends your taxes
5 个月Indeed! There is so much potential yet to be realised although the WGA has led to changes such as the management of fiscal risk - contingent liabilities through the creation of the Contingent Liability Central Capability (CLCC), stopping PPPs, changes to the public sector pensions from final to career average and many more … in response to increasing long term liabilities. But there is so much untapped potential. I remain in hope.