Financial Accountability & Management最新文献

This article responds to calls for research on public financial management for sustainable development by exploring sustainable public procurement (SPP), a demand-side policy tool that is claimed to have great potential. Borrowing from socio-legal studies, we use the concept of regulatory conversations to explore continuous communicative interactions and interpretations related to SPP in Sweden. Drawing on a dataset consisting of policy documents, referral responses, and media articles, our analysis indicates that strong first-order linkages between sustainability and procurement have been created over time. However, the analysis illustrates how strong linkages trigger second-order linkages, that is, new contestations over the operationalization of SPP as the level of concretization increases and the prioritization of goals and values is made possible. Additionally, we extend the existing literature by applying the concept of regulatory conversations to the domain of public financial management. In doing so, we illuminate the inherently deliberative nature of regulation. Through this interdisciplinary approach, we offer a fresh perspective on the mechanisms that support SPP.

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the ongoing debate on the internal audit function in the public sector, by discussing the role that this function can play in addressing the following issues: (i) the complex and fragmented structure of internal control systems resulting from the progressive layering of multiple audit bodies and assurance providers with different standards and tools, and possible overlapping competences and activities, and (ii) the emphasis of internal controls on monitoring, which has become an end in itself, with no attention to value creation. To this end, the article examines the evidence from a research project aimed at improving the internal control system of public healthcare organizations in an Italian region (i.e., Emilia-Romagna) that has long since reflected on public audit issues. Findings shed light on the activities and tools developed and implemented by the regional audit team and the internal auditors. The article provides some significant research contribution in that, drawing on the theoretical lens provided by Miller and Power, it reveals how the internal audit function can improve integration and coordination within the internal control system and foster a risk management culture that enables organizational learning.

This article aims to determine a comprehensive resume of environmental reporting (ER) in the public sector recognizing its role in achieving the environmental sustainable development goals (SDGs). A structured literature review was conducted by content and bibliometric analysis as well as applying the analytical framework by Manes Rossi et al. (2020) to draft the state-of-the-art of ER in public sector organizations and link them to the environmental SDG targets. The analysis develops insights and critical reflections on emerging research areas related to biodiversity disclosure, climate change, and carbon emission disclosure, including ER from a general perspective in the public sector and identifies future research paths that deserve in-depth-investigation. The originality of our study derives from the proposal of a set of renewed streams of research addressed to academics and practical communities as well as to decision-makers and policymakers in taking urgent action to be compliant with emerging legislative issues and to be accountable toward stakeholders in preventing climate change and combating environmental impacts.

Charity organizations’ accountability is crucial for their work and existence, as these organizations depend on continuous public donations. Meeting the needs of all stakeholders places additional challenges on charities and forces them to use different ways/forms of accountability. Recently, social media (SM) has been extensively used for both charity fundraising and reporting/accountability. With few exceptions, the current literature describes this process as rather one-sided—where charity organizations pursue their agendas without engaging with or responding to crowds accessing their SM. This research uses netnographic and interview data to investigate how public SM engagement reconfigures a charity's accountability during wartime. We utilize the case of a significant Ukrainian charity fund that gathered over USD 110 million in donations in 2022 via SM to meet the needs of that country's army as well as victims of Russia's War in Ukraine. SM enabled crowds to question and critique the fund's accountability, generating a crowd-based accountability dialog which required the charity to respond. Consequently, the charity evolved dialogic accountability processes between the crowd, the fund and its celebrity founder, the latter playing a mediating role in the fund's dialog with the crowd. This study adds to the literature on online publics and crowd-based accountability as dialog. A particularly significant facet of this study concerns the highly sensitized context where, despite the exigencies faced, donors’ expectations of accountability remain high. Charity organizations, other nongovernmental organizations and governments can learn from this use of SM as a crowd-based accountability tool to enable real dialog during significant crises (in our case, Russia's War in Ukraine).

Taking a sensemaking and accountability perspective, this paper explores how the Norwegian and the United Kingdom (UK) central governments understand climate change in the annual reports and accounts and how this shapes its accountability. Using a thematic analysis, we find that the Norwegian central government makes sense of climate change as a global problem requiring coordinated actions with shared responsibility and accountability to international agreements. In contrast, the UK central government understands climate change as a problem for individual departments and accountability to national guidelines. Sensemaking is enabled primarily in the narratives but also visually in the UK central government. Our research contributes to climate-related and accounting research by illustrating how central government understands climate change. Theoretically, we extend the literature on sensemaking to the public sector and how sensemaking shapes accountability for climate change.

Across the globe, third sector organizations (TSOs) have long been recognized for their significant contributions to community support and sustainable development. However, their vulnerability to socioeconomic challenges, exemplified by the Covid-19 pandemic, prompts a deeper examination. This study employs semi-structured interviews to explore the resilience and adaptation strategies of TSOs operating in Nigeria, a West African country facing unique challenges. Findings reveal an intricate blend of traditional and innovative approaches, including strategic capabilities, digital citizenship, cultural dynamics, and community participation, employed by TSOs to navigate the uncertainties triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. By uncovering these less-explored resilience dimensions, the study offers valuable insights for TSOs, policymakers, and scholars seeking to understand and enhance organizational resilience in challenging economic and social contexts.

This paper provides an overview of the current state of the literature on sustainability reporting by local governments. It focuses on the reasons why municipalities use sustainability reporting and what contingency factors incentivize or disincentivize its implementation. The study is based on a structured literature review of 190 papers, published in journals on business, environment, and accountancy, covering a 35-year period (1987–2021). We find that sustainability reporting by local governments can be explained from interrelated theoretical perspectives, mainly legitimacy, stakeholder, institutional, and accountability theory. The implementation of sustainability reporting is influenced by contextual factors; the main determinants are organizational and political variables. Based on the papers we reviewed, we provide policy recommendations to improve sustainability reporting in practice and make suggestions for future research.

This study examines voluntary climate-related disclosure practices among New Zealand (NZ) container seaports, in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG13) on climate action. Using a uniquely constructed Climate Change Disclosure Index (CCDI) and interviews, it assesses disclosure practices aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework. The CCDI results indicate a 20% average level of climate-related disclosures. Governance (36%) is the leading thematic area, whereas others track behind with limited disclosures among the sampled hybrid seaport entities. Evidence from the interviews reveals financial and legitimacy considerations, stakeholders, and community expectations, including forthcoming regulations, to be motivations for climate-related disclosures. However, technological limitations, Scope 3 measurement, and regulatory inconsistencies constrain progressive climate actions of these entities. The study emphasizes the need for adaptable approaches to climate change beyond policy mandates and contributes to our understanding of sustainability practices in public sector hybrid entities. The findings hold implications for SDG13 attainment and the development of climate-related accounting standards.