Government accounting reform in an ex-French African colony: the international political economy of neo-colonialism

This paper examines the political economy of introducing a computerised accounting system in a former French colony in Africa with little government accounting and few financial statistics. The reforms were a condition of structural adjustment programmes imposed by the World Bank to improve governance, decision making and government accountability in a country with a turbulent political history since independence, and weak and often corrupt governance. The reform was unusual in that indigenous civil servants had considerable discretion over the choice and development of the system. Thus the local capability in developing government accounting technology suited to the local context and derived from learning by experience was created. The system was widely regarded as effective but it was abandoned for a French system which ultimately proved problematic. The decision to change the system and its ensuing problems are attributed to North-South relations, indigenous neopatrimonial leadership, and neocolonialism, especially by France in Francophone Africa

Building financial management capacity for community ownership of development initiatives in rural Zambia

Background: Building financial management capacity is increasingly important in low- and middle-income countries to help communities take ownership of development activities. Yet, many community members lack financial knowledge and skills. Methods: As part of a larger health intervention, we designed and conducted financial management training for 83 members from 10 community groups in rural Zambia. Change scores between pre- and post-tests on financial knowledge were calculated and multivariate linear regression models run. Qualitative feedback was elicited. Results: The training significantly improved knowledge of financial concepts. Participants with some or more than some secondary education had greater improvements in knowledge (by 1.8 and 2.9 points out of 10 respectively; p=0.003 and p\u3c0.001). Participants appreciated exercises to contextualize financial concepts within daily life, and liked opportunities to learn from peers in small groups. Language barriers were a particular challenge. Conclusion: Financial management training may contribute to the sustainability of community-managed interventions but needs to be tailored to the background and education level of the participants. Training should relate financial concept to more tangible applications and provide time for active learning. This training approach could be used in similar settings to improve community oversight of resources intended to strengthen developmental initiatives

The future of public sector accounting research. A polyphonic debate

PurposeThe purpose of this polyphonic paper is to report on interdisciplinary discussions on the state-of-the-art and future of public sector accounting research (PSAR). The authors hope to enliven the debates of the past and future developments in terms of context, themes, theories, methods and impacts in the field of PSAR by the exchanges they include here. Design/methodology/approachThis polyphonic paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach. It brings into conversation ideas, views and approaches of several scholars on the actual and future developments of PSAR in various contexts, and explores potential implications. FindingsThis paper has brought together scholars from a plurality of disciplines, research methods and geographical areas, showing at the same time several points of convergence on important future themes (such as accounting as a mean for public, accounting, hybridity and value pluralism) and enabling conditions (accounting capabilities, profession and digitalisation) for PSA scholarship and practice, and the richness of looking at them from a plurality of perspectives. Research limitations/implicationsExploring these past and future developments opens up the potential for interesting theoretical insights. A much greater theoretical and practical reconsideration of PSAR will be fostered by the exchanges included here. Originality/valueIn setting out a future research agenda, this paper fosters theoretical and methodological pluralism in the interdisciplinary research community interested in PSAR in various contexts. The discussion perspectives presented in this paper constitute not only a basis for further research in this relevant accounting area on the role, status and developments of PSAR but also creative potential for practitioners to be more reflective on their practices and also intended and united outcomes of such practices

How the Colonial legacy frames state audit institutions in Benin that fail to curb corruption

Supreme audit institutions are an important pillar of governance and government resource management, particularly for controlling corruption. Francophone African countries inherited these from their former colonial power, France, but their role and function are limited. This paper argues that this is partly a legacy of their colonial experience. It investigates the Chamber of Accounts in Benin, the country’s supreme audit institution, using the lenses of Ekeh (1975) two publics and legitimacy theory. Nonetheless, Ekeh’s theory needed extending to incorporate changes affecting governance after Benin’s independence. The amorality of political officials, accepted by much of Benin society, rendered the institution largely ineffective in controlling corruption. Nevertheless, civil society organizations, donors, and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have attempted to redress this. Politicians and government officials responded by engaging in symbolic compliance to meet stakeholders’ expectations. A separate audit institution – the General Inspectorate of State – was established under the sole control of the President to gain external legitimacy and retain donors’ budget support, whilst persistent corruption and rising poverty continue. Benin’s auditing institutions have become empty crates, which sometimes facilitate rather than control corruption

Globalisation, accounting and developing countries

Accounting is an instrument and an object in globalisation but its impact and manifestation is not uniform across Northern developed countries and Southern developing countries (DCs). This paper reviews contributions on globalisation and its influence on accounting in DCs, and identifies important research gaps. It examines the role of accounting in changing development policies, from state capitalism through neo-liberal market-based to good-governance policies. It then considers specific accounting issues, namely the diffusion of International Accounting Standards (now International Financial Reporting Standards) and how they promote global neo-liberalism; the development of the accounting profession in DCs in the face of competition from Northern global accounting firms and professional associations; accounting issues in state-owned organisations, and privatised and multinational corporations; government accounting reforms and the resurrection of the state in DCs; social and environmental accounting issues; and the rise of non-governmental organisations and their accounting and accountability. The discussion and conclusions reflect on achievements to date and important areas requiring further development

Varieties of neo-colonialism: government accounting reforms in Anglophone and Francophone Africa - Benin and Ghana compared

This study compares government accounting reforms in an Anglophone and a Francophone African country, namely Ghana and Benin, with respect to neo-colonialism. The data draws from interviews with local officials concerned with government accounting, documents and documentaries. The focus lay on the perceived effectiveness of reforms, and their formulation and implementation. In both countries their former colonial powers, Britain and France, still influence accounting through economic means (through monetary systems), international financial institutions, political advisors, Northern accounting associations and neo-patrimonialism. However, their use of these differs. While France structures her control mostly around the monetary system established during colonialism, Britain relies on its post-colonial infrastructure and accounting profession, and concedes much influence to the USA, essentially through international financial institutions. France exerts more direct control through advisors than Britain (with the USA). The French approach is conceptualized as coercive-neo-colonialism and the British as soft-neo-colonialism. Despite international financial institutions’ pervasive presence, they are not monolithic agents with a uniform role and influence in Ghana and Benin, and good governance aims to increase civil service capacity, financial transparency and accountability remain problematic

Participatory and incremental development in an African local government accounting reform

Despite significant donor funding, government accounting reforms seeking transparent and effective management of public resources often fail or have limited success, especially in Africa, prompting questions about donors? implementation approach and calls for studies of successful reforms. This paper investigates a local government accounting reform in Benin supported by a German development agency ? perceived as successful due to the participatory, pragmatic and incremental approach reinforced by conditionalities in the face of neo-patrimonial leadership

Behind the World Bank’s ringing declarations of “social accountability”: Ghana’s public financial management reform

Accountability has become integral to many African development reforms and permeated the World Bank’s (WB) policy discourses, with “social accountability” as a major plank in its development orthodoxy. Since the 2004 Word Development Report, the Bank’s leadership has been declaring its commitment to social accountability. This paper excavates what lies behind ringing declarations of commitment to social accountability in the context of Ghana’s Public Financial Management Reform Programme. Empirically, it draws on four months’ fieldwork into the accountability practices this programme brought about and an extensive analysis of WB discourses on public sector reforms and social accountability. Theoretically, the paper draws on Foucault’s governmentality and the notion of agonistic democracy central to the recent democratic accountability debate in critical accounting circles. The paper argues that WB’s social accountability crusade hinges on the neoliberal concerns of efficiency and fiscal discipline rather than creating a democratic social order, which then questions the very notion of social accountability that WB is propagating, especially its discursive and ideological “short-circuiting” of democratic processes. The paper finds that the dominant and dominating accountability forms that facilitate WB’s financial hegemony are privileged over potentially emancipatory ones. The findings highlight that as the local governments become responsible to international development agencies through the “social accountabilities” that WB is promoting they become less socially and democratically accountable to their own populace – the very place where social accountability should truly rest

Interplay between governance and accounting systems in Africa

This thesis examines the interplay between country level governance and accounting systems considering the role of the World Bank and other donors in the development of both governance and accounting in Africa. The purpose of the research is threefold. The first is to assess the state of accounting systems on the continent using Ghana and Benin as illustrative cases. The second purpose is to examine the link between accounting and governance, and the current donors’ approach to the development of governance and accounting in Africa. The third purpose relates to the examination, through the lens of political economy, of the factors hampering the development of sound governance and accounting systems in Africa. The research is conducted through a case-study and cross-national design with four data collection methods: interview, observation, survey and documents. The study finds that accounting systems in Benin and Ghana are very weak despite the reform initiatives undertaken in the area, and that the main difference between the two systems relates to the relatively higher level of accounting information available to the public in Ghana compared with Benin. Further, the findings suggest that there is a potential causal relationship between accounting and governance. With regard to the World Bank and other donors’ approach, it is found that the approach to governance and accounting reforms in Africa suffers from a lack of contextual and cultural fit. The study also identifies and explains the various political and economic forces and interests that shape the development of governance and accounting in Africa. These findings complement, extend and challenge existing studies in the field