The Public Sector Accounting, Accountability and Auditing in Emerging Economies: Insights, Gaps and Some New Ways Forward

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and synthesise insights from the papers contained in this special issue on accounting, accountability and auditing in emerging economies. This paper draws upon general desk research and the papers in this special edition. This paper shows that the rapid development of public sector accounting, accountability and auditing in emerging economies presents theoretical and empirical challenges because of the different ways in which public sector reforms and changes are understood and enacted within institutions. This paper provides academics, regulators and reporting organisations with robust evidence to help inform improvements in policy and practice. It is concluded that public sector accounting, accountability and auditing reforms in emerging economies are more likely to achieve set objectives if there is a high degree of local-level involvement in their implementation. Drawing together a collection of papers in this emerging research field, this paper highlights many areas where further academic research is needed as well as indicating some new ways forward.