Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Satisfaction Gap in Public Sector Financial Reporting

Satisfaction Gap in Public Sector Financial Reporting PurposePublic information disclosure is a manifestation of transparency and contributes to governance by disclosure. Also, better financial reporting can improve the credibility and integrity of public finances and contribute to a better management of public resources. A survey was carried out in Cyprus of users’ of public financial reports concerning an expectation gap about (a) the types of information included in such reports (information needs expectation gap) as well as (b) the quality of such information (information quality satisfaction gap). Design/methodology/approachTwo focus groups of users and preparers of public financial reports were used to construct the questionnaire. Users of such reports, who belonged to all three categories of public sector financial reporting identified by IPSASB, were surveyed. The quantitative data obtained was analysed using SPSS and quadrant analysis to answer the research questions posed.FindingsData from 101 respondents confirmed that each of the information needs identified in the IPSASB Consultation Paper (2008) was rated as being a significant information need. Data analysis also showed that both types of expectating gap exist, especially as far as local authority and semi-public-organisations are concerned. Research limitations/implicationsThe response rate in the self-administered survey was admittedly rather low but it was not unexpected mainly due to the survey’s very specialized nature and the tendency by people in Cyprus not to critique public bodies. Practical implicationsDefficient financial public sector reporting means the Auditor General is not able to adequately express an opinion on public spending at the local government level. This, in turn, means taxpayers do not get the quality of services they pay for. At the same time, the lack of information transparency means corrupt practices are not eradicated. One answer to the problem would be legislating the content of public financial reports. Originality/valueThe survey conducted was the first of its kind in Cyprus to investigate financial public sector reporting and document both manifestations of the expectation gap. In addition, information needs identified in the IPSASB Consultation Paper (2008) was rated as significantly needed and this is the first time it has been done in Eurozone member State and in a country facing a financial crisis. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies Emerald Publishing

Satisfaction Gap in Public Sector Financial Reporting

Download PDF
45 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/satisfaction-gap-in-public-sector-financial-reporting-zCB00rq50a

References (69)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
2042-1168
DOI
10.1108/JAEE-08-2013-0040
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

PurposePublic information disclosure is a manifestation of transparency and contributes to governance by disclosure. Also, better financial reporting can improve the credibility and integrity of public finances and contribute to a better management of public resources. A survey was carried out in Cyprus of users’ of public financial reports concerning an expectation gap about (a) the types of information included in such reports (information needs expectation gap) as well as (b) the quality of such information (information quality satisfaction gap). Design/methodology/approachTwo focus groups of users and preparers of public financial reports were used to construct the questionnaire. Users of such reports, who belonged to all three categories of public sector financial reporting identified by IPSASB, were surveyed. The quantitative data obtained was analysed using SPSS and quadrant analysis to answer the research questions posed.FindingsData from 101 respondents confirmed that each of the information needs identified in the IPSASB Consultation Paper (2008) was rated as being a significant information need. Data analysis also showed that both types of expectating gap exist, especially as far as local authority and semi-public-organisations are concerned. Research limitations/implicationsThe response rate in the self-administered survey was admittedly rather low but it was not unexpected mainly due to the survey’s very specialized nature and the tendency by people in Cyprus not to critique public bodies. Practical implicationsDefficient financial public sector reporting means the Auditor General is not able to adequately express an opinion on public spending at the local government level. This, in turn, means taxpayers do not get the quality of services they pay for. At the same time, the lack of information transparency means corrupt practices are not eradicated. One answer to the problem would be legislating the content of public financial reports. Originality/valueThe survey conducted was the first of its kind in Cyprus to investigate financial public sector reporting and document both manifestations of the expectation gap. In addition, information needs identified in the IPSASB Consultation Paper (2008) was rated as significantly needed and this is the first time it has been done in Eurozone member State and in a country facing a financial crisis.

Journal

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies – Emerald Publishing

Published: Aug 8, 2016

There are no references for this article.