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Whole of Government Accounting

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  • First Online:
Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance

Synonyms

Consolidation; Group accounting; Reporting

Definition

The Whole of Government Accounting (WGA) refers to a view of the overall financial position of the government of a particular jurisdiction and is prepared via the consolidation of the financial statements and transactions of all entities controlled by the jurisdiction’s government (Guthrie 1998, p. 2).

Introduction

During the last decades, public sector organizations in several countries have undergone enormous changes. One of the most notable initiatives has been the externalization of public services through corporatization, contracting out, agencies, public and private partnerships, and privatization of activities and entities not at the core of public administration. All these initiatives are part of New Public Management (NPM). Definitions of NPM vary, but it is often taken involving downsizing, privatization, corporatization, competition, and devolution (Gruening 2001; Reichard 2002; Wollmann 2004).

The growing...

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Abbreviations

AASB:

Australian Accounting Standards Board

CFS:

Consolidated financial statement

FASAB:

Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board

GASB:

Governmental Accounting Standards Board

IAS:

International Accounting Standards

IASB:

International Accounting Standards Board

IFRS:

International Financial Reporting Standards

IPSAS:

International Public Sector Accounting Standards

IPSASB:

International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board

NPM:

New Public Management

SCMA:

Swedish Council Municipal Accounting

SNFMA:

Swedish National Financial Management Authority

WGA:

Whole of Government Accounting

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration and Work Science, Kristianstad University, Kristianstad, Sweden

    Giuseppe Grossi

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  1. Giuseppe Grossi
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Correspondence to Giuseppe Grossi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA

    Ali Farazmand

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Grossi, G. (2016). Whole of Government Accounting. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2293-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_2293-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

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