Public sector management accounting in emerging economies: A literature review

This paper reviews public sector management accounting (PSMA) research in emerging economies (EEs) and suggests ways forward. A political economy approach to management accounting and development is adopted to analyze the findings of the papers reviewed. Our review covers the past two decades and is based on 69 papers published in international accounting and public administration journals. We find that different development phases give rise to distinctive types of management accounting practice, which often do not live up to expectations owing to local politics and other socio-economic factors. Although the quantity of PSMA research on EEs is growing, there is a need for future research that addresses how management accounting practices in the public sector in EEs are impacted by the interplay between the public management programmes of international donor agencies and the political, economic and cultural contexts of EEs. In order to capture these complex socio-political and socio-cultural contexts, solid theoretical foundations are recommended, relying especially on critical and social theories, as well as on qualitative research such as case studies.