A framework for examining accountability and value for money in the UK's private finance initiative

This paper seeks to develop a system for evaluating the implications of accountability and value-for-money (VFM) decisions in private finance initiative (PFI) projects from initiation through set-up, implementation and internal and external monitoring. By reviewing the extant literature on accountability and VFM, a model is developed for evaluating the implications of various types of accountability and VFM decisions on PFI projects. Most previous studies have considered either the accountability or VFM at the projects' initial stages; little attention has been paid to the interrelationship between accountability and VFM issues in the evaluation of various PFI processes. This paper addresses these lacunae in the literature

Toward an understanding of strategic control at a distance in public service delivery

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how localized (organization-level) actors of policy initiatives that are inspired by neoliberal ideologies use management accounting and control practices. Specifically, it addresses the operational stages of a case study Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract within the United Kingdom's (UK's) transport sector of roads for embedding government objectives in the underlying project road. Design/methodology/approach This paper adopts Dean's (2010) analytics of government to unpack the accounting-based control practices within the case study contract in order to articulate how, at the micro level, the government's objective of improving road-users' safety is enacted, modified and maintained through such regimes. Findings Drawing on a content-based analysis of UK government PFI policy and extensive case study-specific documents, together with interviews and observations, this research provides theoretical insights about how control practices, at a distance without direct intervention, function as forms of power for government for shaping the performance of the PFI contractor. The authors find that the public sector's accounting control regimes in the case study project have a constraining effect on “real partnership working” between the government and private contractors and on the private sector's incentive to innovate. Research limitations/implications By analyzing a single road case study PFI contract, the findings may not be generalizable. Originality/value This paper provides significant theoretically informed insights about how public service delivery that is outsourced to private contractors is controlled by government at a distance within complex organizational arrangements (e.g. PFI)

Public sector reforms and Public Private Partnerships: Overview and research agenda

The purpose of this editorial paper is to introduce the special issue and outline its majorthemes. This special issue of Accounting Forum aims to stimulate interdisciplinary and critical research on public sector reforms, particularly in the context of Public Private Partnerships and other public sector organisations. The editorial also seeks to provide a research agenda and new directions for more research in the field, considering the ambiguities of this hybrid organisational forms and the complexity of accounting and accountability reforms

Accounting, management and accountability in times of crisis: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the themes emerging from the first studies exploring accounting, accountability and management practices during the COVID-19 pandemic and coming from a diversity of experiences, across countries, organizations and individuals. In so doing, the paper gives an overview of the most recent findings about the role of accounting and accountability in times of crisis that are hosted in this special issue of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ). Design/methodology/approach The paper draws together and identifies emerging themes related to the current COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on accounting, accountability and management practices and considershowthestudiesinthisissueextendone’sknowledgeofaccountingandcontributetoaccounting research. Findings –Three emerging themes are drawn and their contribution to accounting scholarship is discussed. The first theme deals with the role of accounting and numbers in supporting governmental responses to COVID-19. The second theme considers accounting practices used to make exceptional decisions at the organizational level in times of crisis. The third theme addresses a relevant frontier of research into accounting and inequalities. Practical implications In considering the diverse contributions of this special issue, the paper points out how uncertainty and change can impact the design, use and understanding of accounting, management and accountability practices and can be accepted by scholars and practitioners as part of such practices. Originality/value This paper provides a timely and comprehensive picture of the first reflections and research findings on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on one’s interpretation of accounting, accountability and management practices

Changing perceptions on PPP games: demand risk in Irish roads

This study is based on three Irish operational toll road public private partnership (PPP) case studies, including interviews with 38 key stakeholders. Our findings show that the Irish Government's treatment of risk and its transfer to the private partner in PPPs are changing over time. Regulatory changes, which have led to increased finance costs, coupled with a severe global economic crisis, have exacerbated the difficulties in funding PPPs. The goalposts in Irish PPPs appear to be changing in favour of the private partner at the expense of the taxpayers, who are the losers in the PPP game. The Government are also suggesting that they may potentially step in, if projects experienced financial difficulty and the special purpose vehicle (SPV) may require specific guarantees in order to participate in future PPP projects. Pricing of demand risk also differs from the Government's rhetoric that it is being priced realistically. In practice, we find that it is priced aggressively by the SPV in order to win PPP contracts. The paper discusses the possible implications of these findings for value for money (VFM) and, ultimately, taxpayers

Risk transfer and stakeholder relationships in Public Private Partnerships

Drawing on stakeholder theory, this study seeks to gain an insight into the stakeholder management strategies used by the Procuring Authority in Irish road Public Private Partnerships to manage its complex stakeholder relationships