Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management

Cohen, Sandra; Nerantzidis, Michail; Vatis, Stylianos Efstratios

doi: 10.1108/jpbafm-07-2024-0113pmid: N/A

In recent decades, accounting scholars have demonstrated a growing interest in studying charitable organizations. While prior qualitative reviews exist, there has been no quantitative and systematic review synthesizing accounting research in charities. This study aims to fill this gap by consolidating insights from diverse literature through a bibliometric analysis (BA) and systematic literature review (SLR).Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of 341 peer-reviewed articles from Scopus, this paper maps this research landscape through the adoption of a BA and SLR methodology. The analysis uncovers the most frequent types of charities, research methods and theories, displays the publication trends, and reveals their social and intellectual structure while identifying the research trends from 1982 to 2024.FindingsSocial services and health organizations emerge as the most prevalent types of charities in accounting research. The analysis shows an upward publication and citation trend, characterized by a substantial contribution from high-quality journals and the influential role of the United States and the United Kingdom. Collaboration patterns reveal a network concentrated in Anglo-Saxon countries. Six clusters are identified and discussed in the classification of existing literature. Finally, the field's conceptual evolution illustrates emerging trends, particularly in the post-COVID-19 pandemic landscape, offering avenues for future research.Originality/valueThis study presents a fresh perspective on accounting research in charities by combining SLR with BA. Covering nearly four decades of research, it maps the field's collaborative, intellectual and conceptual structure, reveals recent developments and outlines future directions for scholars and practitioners.

Afadzinu, Sewornu Kobla

doi: 10.1108/jpbafm-03-2025-0075pmid: N/A

This study examines how political influence over the appointment of the Auditor-General (AG) in Ghana can undermine audit transparency, institutional independence and public trust in fiscal accountability. It investigates how executive control undermines the objectivity and effectiveness of the Ghana Audit Service (GAS) and proposes actionable reform strategies to reinforce audit integrity in emerging democracies.Design/methodology/approachUsing principal-agent theory, this research investigates how executive control distorts the accountability relationship between public auditors and citizens, revealing how formal legal provisions can be undermined by informal political practices. This qualitative case study involves 52 semi-structured interviews with key actors in Ghana's public financial management (PFM) system; these are analyzed thematically to identify critical patterns.FindingsExecutive discretion heavily influences AG appointments, reducing audit objectivity and weakening public trust in the GAS. Moreover, structural weaknesses, including opaque appointment procedures, budgetary dependence and selective audit reporting, compromise the watchdog function of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI).Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on Ghana. While the findings may not be generalizable, they may apply to emerging democracies facing similar challenges. Further comparative research is encouraged to test the reform framework applied here.Practical implicationsGhana's case revealed a pattern where executive dominance over appointments undermines public accountability. Strengthening legislative oversight, maintaining audit budgets and institutionalizing transparent performance review mechanisms are critical.Originality/valueThis study provides empirical evidence on AG appointments in Ghana, by integrating temporal analysis into public sector auditing. These insights contribute to both academic understanding and accountability frameworks where informal political pressures test formal independence.

Moss, Supawadee; Buachoom, Wonlop Writthym

doi: 10.1108/jpbafm-04-2025-0105pmid: N/A

This study examines government budgeting for anti-corruption organisations and its ability to increase transparency and reduce corruption in Thailand. It also considers government effectiveness (GE), control of corruption (CC), regulatory quality (RQ), voice and accountability, political stability and military spending (MS) as factors influencing greater national transparency.Design/methodology/approachWith the quantitative approach, the linear regression is applied to test the relationship between related budgeting factors and the level of transparency (LT). Data included in the study were collected for 20 years, ranging from 2003 to 2022. The data related to the budget allocated are manually collected from the annual report of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and the Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC), while some indicators are collected from the global economy and World Bank databases.FindingsThe findings suggest that budget spending on anti-corruption organisations is negatively associated with transparency. This is not surprising in a developing country, where increased government spending alone can lead to a higher rate of corruption due to the opportunities it creates for misusing public funds and the potential inefficiencies of the organisations. However, when combined with high GE, budget spending becomes more effective in increasing transparency. This suggests that budget spending alone does not reduce corruption; it must be paired with effective governance. The findings also indicate that greater political instability and higher MS correlate with lower transparency, particularly when military oversight is weak. Conversely, stronger RQ enhances transparency.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of this research include the unavailability of disaggregated anti-corruption budget data (HL and ML) outside Thailand, which precluded direct replication of the core model in the SEA sample. Our fixed-effects approach controlled for unobserved, time-invariant heterogeneity and global shocks, but finer-grained variables, such as enforcement capacity, media freedom or civil-society strength could further illuminate the mechanisms at work.Practical implicationsPractical implications suggest that policy prescriptions cannot rely solely on increased funding or regulatory design. They must strengthen institutional capacity and accountability to translate resources into genuine transparency gains.Originality/valueAs the effectiveness of budget allocation in reducing corruption, especially in developing countries like Thailand, remains questionable, this study highlights literature to document the effectiveness of the budget system in increasing the transparency level of government activities. The study also extends to test the effectiveness of budgeting on Southeast Asian countries, including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. The results add to the literature that GE and higher CC help to increase the LT in these countries.

Tierling, Isielli Mayara Barzotto Martins; Portulhak, Henrique; Jorge, Susana; Varela, Patricia Siqueira

doi: 10.1108/jpbafm-08-2025-0243pmid: N/A

This research analyses how public sector entities account for heritage assets managed by a private sector not-for-profit organization under a management contract, and how these assets are disclosed.Design/methodology/approachA documental analysis was carried out based on management contracts, financial statements and extra-accounting reports from Brazilian states that have contracted out the management of heritage assets.FindingsResults show that although some heritage assets are disclosed, inconsistency is observed regarding the recognition and disclosure criteria in the financial statements and extra-accounting reports among states and within each state. In cases where heritage assets were recognized, no information on fair value measurement procedures and on subsequent expenditures treatment was found.Originality/valueThe need to control, preserve and recognize heritage assets has raised heated discussions in the public sector accounting field. Accounting issues related to their recognition, measurement and disclosure are intensified when these assets are the subject of a partnership between governments and private not-for-profit organizations, given that these contracts increase the information demand for decision-making and accountability. This research adds evidence that current accounting requirements for heritage assets are not leading to comparability of public sector financial statements, including when they are under third parties' management, instead generating a Tower of Babel-like scenario.

Plaček, Michal; Nemec, Juraj; Šumpíková, Markéta; Mikołajczak, Paweł; Skikiewicz, Robert

doi: 10.1108/jpbafm-03-2025-0065pmid: N/A

On average, 14% of GDP is allocated through public procurement, which was also a key tool for purchasing health equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. These procurements were the subjects of malpractice. Most visible malpractices have led to public scandals and have been widely covered by the media. Therefore, our exploratory study focuses on how scandals in public procurement environments during pandemics can affect trust in government.Design/methodology/approachThe research design was case studies for selected Central and Eastern European countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland) conducted through desk research and focus groups with representatives from key informants (active politicians, academic and non-profit sector experts, and journalists). The CEE location was chosen because these countries have traditionally faced problems in their public procurement systems with high corruption, dysfunctionalities (such as limited competition and the dominant lowest price-based selection method), and populism. The selected countries have some similarities but also many differences (economical, political, and institutional); therefore, the case studies document the impact of procurement on trust in three specific environments.FindingsOur exploratory analysis finds that problems in public procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic can directly and indirectly affect government trust. We identified significant heterogeneity and explained its causes even within the selected small group of countries.Originality/valueThe current literature lacks a greater focus on the noneconomic effects of PPP problems in areas such as trust in government during the pandemic.

doi: 10.1108/jpbafm-03-2026-0116pmid: N/A