مقاله انگلیسی رایگان در مورد ایجاد (خلق) و پذیرش استانداردهای حسابداری بخش دولتی در کشور کانادا – Sage 2018

Abstract

This study explores the events leading up to the origination of public sector accounting standards in Canada by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and their adoption by the Government of Canada. We interpret these events from the perspective of institutional theory. We find that a long-standing institutionalized practice of self-developed government accounting policies was disrupted by a series of challenges. An influential actor in this process was the Office of the Auditor General of Canada which first pushed for the creation of independent government accounting standards and then pushed the government toward the implementation of the accounting policies developed by the CICA’s public sector accounting standard-setting body. Two CICA studies served to further disrupt the status quo. We also find evidence of the role played by an inter-organization professional network in defining and labeling problems that ultimately resulted in the change.

Introduction

The preparation of financial statements is guided by criteria that determine such matters as what is included in and excluded from the financial statements, how financial statement items are measured, how financial statement information is presented or otherwise disclosed, and what the appropriate reporting entity is. During the mid-twentieth century, standard-setting bodies came into existence around the world, including in Canada, to promulgate standardized principles, rules, and guidelines for organizations to follow in the preparation of financial statements. In the United Kingdom, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales released its Statement of Intent on Accounting Standards in the 1970s noting the need to address the diversity of reporting practices (Rutherford, 2007). In Australia, the process of standard setting by the profession got under way in 1966; few standards, however, were issued until the mid-1970s (Ryan et al., 2007). In Canada, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) took on the role of standard setter and in 1968 produced the CICA Handbook which laid out the standards for financial statement preparation and the standards for auditing those financial statements. These standards, however, related solely to the private sector. This study is concerned with the origin of standard setting for public sector entities in Canada.