Rethinking Public Accounting

Description

This volume argues for reforms in India's public spending and accounting. In recent years, efficiency and accountability are receiving special emphasis in evaluating the role of government. One of the reasons for this has been the realization that there is a tremendous waste in government expenditure and ways need to be found to trim it. The book argues for reforms in India's accounting system that can help set performance standards and be able to provide reliable information to monitor government expenditure. It critically analyses the cash accounting system and shows that it is inadequate to fulfil these demands. Strongly comparative in nature, the volume then analyses the lessons learnt from cutting edge accounting practices in the UK, New Zealand, Australia, and Sweden drawing out and prescribing methods for India. This volume is the first of its kind to provide a prescriptive policy and stage by stage recommendation of the advantages of accrual accounting.

About the Author

S.K. Das retired from the Indian Administrative Service and is presently with the Department of Space, Government of India, Bangalore.

Table of contents

List of tables; Acknowledgements
Introduction
1:Government Accounting
2:Government Accounting in India
3:Accrual Accounting in the New Zealand Government
4:Accrual Accounting in the Australian Government
5:Resource Accounting in the UK Government
6:Accrual Accounting in the Swedish Government
7:Comparative Experience: The Issues
8:Comparative Experience: The Gains
9:Introducing Accrual Accounting in the Indian Government
10:Implementation: A Roadmap
Bibliography
Further Reading
Index