“Does your walk match your talk?” Analyzing IPSASs diffusion in developing and developed countries

The purpose of this paper is to provide a global overview of the adoption status of InternationalPublic Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) in the different contexts of developed and developing countrieson central government level, particularly delineating key reform issues and attempts to overcome these. Drawing on an analytical framework that combines neo-institutionaltheory with diffusion theory, prior research and official documents were re-analysed.There are substantial differences regarding whether countries acknowledge having experiencedlarge implementation challenges and the extent to which the reform benefits have been achieved. The studysheds light on the (institutional) underpinnings of these differences.First, the analysis could be extended to regional and localgovernments, as well as social funds. Both qualitative and quantitative strategies are suggested. Second, theimplementation of the conceptual framework deserves further attention. Third, further research should morethoroughly scrutinise cost-benefit analyses used for justifying the (non)implementation of IPSASs, and inparticular the assumptions that are being made in such analyses.The paper informs policymakers and standard setters by delineating the areasand issues complicating the widespread adoption of IPSASs across countries, including pointing outdirections to overcome these.Social implications–Substantial amounts of public money are invested internationally to convergeaccounting standards and translate them into native languages. A close(r) monitoring is needed to ensure thatthese efforts obtain sufficient value for money.This study is original as it applies an analytical framework that combines neo-institutional theory and diffusion theory to examine public sector accounting convergence issues internationally.