Measurement in Public Sector Financial Reporting: Theoretical Basis and Empirical Evidence

This introductory chapter elaborates on the tricky issue of measurement in public sector financial reporting, which arises due to the particular features of the public sector when compared to the private sector. It provides a summary of the book chapters, highlighting the theoretical/practical frameworks used, methodologies and conclusions. Three themes are identified in the book, namely, (a) frameworks and methodologies; (b) measuring and reporting the elements in financial statements; and (c) heritage. This chapter identifies important avenues for further research.

Implementation of accrual-based accounting systems and the related preparation of an initial balance sheet are stimulating a debate on valuation and management of fixed assets, emphasising how critical it is to have adequate asset information. This chapter aims to propose a framework to clarify the relationship between the asset inventory and the asset register by examining the objectives and characteristics of asset information systems, drawing from experience regarding the implementation of asset inventories and registers from four countries (Malaysia, South Africa, Switzerland, and Australia – State of Victoria).

Recognition, measurement and disclosure of public sector assets constitute relevant matters for national and international public sector accounting standard-setting. This chapter develops a theoretical analysis drawing upon a dualistic approach contrasting current value and historical cost accounting models. Accordingly, the latter should be adapted and then preferred to cope with public sector specificities, with a view to providing information for and enforcing accountability to citizens and their political representatives. Drawing upon this theoretical setting, our analysis develops a consistent design for the overarching conceptual framework for assets in general, providing illustrative examples for specific categories such as financial, heritage, natural and military assets.

The principle of prudence plays a critical role in the design of national and international public sector accounting. Whereas in private sector accounting there is a substantial body of literature with regard to conservatism, the academic debate on the prudence principle in public sector accounting has only started recently. The aim of this chapter is to analyse whether the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) address asymmetric prudence with respect to measurement. This chapter shows that the existence of requirements leading to asymmetric prudence with regard to the measurement of assets is widespread throughout the suite of IPSASs.

The measurement of non-financial assets that are held for their service potential rather than for a financial return can be challenging in the public sector. In some cases, the information is not available about the historical cost for the initial measurement and there is not an active market neither that could allow inferring a value for those non-financial assets. In response to this problem, this chapter analyses the newly developed measurement base current operational value (COV) to measure assets in the public sector. This measurement base is part of the proposals in Exposure Draft (ED) 76 – Conceptual Framework Update: Chapter 7, Measurement of Assets and Liabilities in Financial Statements, and ED 77 – Measurement. This chapter was developed using evidence obtained through participant observation to the IPSASB meetings from the authors and the desk analysis of the comment letters (CLs) to the ED 76 and ED 77. The findings from this study reveal that comparability is a major concern of the stakeholders. The CLs also highlighted the need for further guidance on a number of issues and suggested the way forward for the future standard-setting process that address the concerns identified in the proposed COV.

The objective of this chapter is to compare the measurement bases of income and expenditures found in International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) used in Public Accounts with those in the statistical rules used in National Accounts/Government Finance Statistics (GFS). Both frameworks apply an accrual methodology, but, while some governments appear dubious about adopting the IPSAS framework, the National Accounts framework is more ‘tried and tested’ for government financial reporting on an international scale. The practical application of the accrual methodology in the two frameworks differs to a certain extent. These differences provide learning opportunities for both frameworks.

With the growth of municipal capitalism, both local governments (LGs) and their related entities are involved in debates about public sector financial debts. This chapter seeks a deeper understanding of the relevance of measuring liabilities through the consolidated financial statements (CFS). With regard to a sample of Italian LGs, the analysis show that debts calculated with reference to the CFSs is statistically different from that derived from the analysis of the separate financial statements (SFS). The authors also conclude that the differences are largely due to the impact of non-controlled entities, which are proportionately consolidated. The analysis of this study is limited to considering the impact of debt and does not take into account other financial or non-financial variables. The usefulness of CFSs must also be evaluated with reference to these elements.

Measurement and evaluation issues have long represented the main criticality of accrual accounting adoption in the public sector. While professional accountants and scholars have mostly focused on the recognition and measurement of typical public assets (e.g. heritage and community assets), the authors contend that more attention should be paid to the equity (net assets). The equity requires additional evaluation criteria that stem from the representation of an accounting aggregate that does not exist per se but rather derives as a residual from all the other items reported in the balance sheet. This chapter proposes an illustrative case study on the evolution of the accrual accounting principle for Italian local governments (LGs). The findings enable the gaining of a deeper understanding of how the equity can be represented and discuss which informative objectives it can address in public administrations. Practical recommendations are delivered for national and international accounting standard setters for the public sector.

In recent years, accounting for heritage assets has evolved but continuing the diversity in reporting practices remains problematic. Traditional cash-based budgets are still common in governmental accounting in some countries, but these ignore heritage assets as they are non-realisable and often do not generate revenue. Heritage assets do, however, incur cash outflows. The adoption of accrual accounting for recording heritage assets raises the technical issues of recognition and measurement of such assets, both in the balance sheet and income statements.

This chapter examines the financial reporting environment for heritage assets in New Zealand (NZ). The authors provide evidence on the reporting practices of heritage assets by five of NZ’s significant museums during the period 2011–2020, under IAS 16 and IPSAS 17 requirements. The authors analyse disclosures on heritage assets in the financial reports of these museums, including accounting policies, valuation and measurement, income statement impact, and related notes.

The findings suggest that, despite the existence of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) (IAS 16) and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) (IPSAS 17) reporting standards during this period, a variety of reporting practices exist among NZ museums. For example, heritage assets are recognised either at fair value or historical cost on the balance sheet or not recognised in the financial statements at all. These findings suggest substantial non-uniformity in the actual measurement and reporting of heritage assets. They are of interest to policy-makers and regulators, particularly in countries that are currently considering adoption of IPSAS.

This book chapter intends to analyse a particular measurement basis, namely the ‘value in use’, regarding its definition and application in the public sector context. To this end, the current study assesses the development of a measurement practice in a particular jurisdiction, that is, Italy, compared with requirements in current International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs), in order to explore its suitability and practicability for a specific category of public sector assets, namely heritage assets.

Heritage assets (HAs) are important goods or properties that define a country’s culture, history, and identity. Public sector entities are the primary custodians of a nation’s heritage properties; however, many local museums and historic houses are managed by private not-for-profit (NFP) organisations that essentially act to conserve these heritage places.

Through a documentary analysis, this chapter aims to investigate the points of convergence and the differences between accounting policies for governmental heritage and private NFP organisations.

The study demonstrates that even private NFP entities present the same characteristics as public sector ones in the accounting of heritage goods and that there are certain accounting standards being equally applicable; therefore, the accounting policies for governmental heritage are in accordance with the accounting policies for NFP organisations such as museums, art galleries, charities, churches, for their heritage goods.