The Research-Practice Gap on Accounting in the Public Services : An International Analysis

This book considers how the practical and public policy relevance of research might be increased, and academics and practitioners can better engage to define research agendas and deliver findings relevant to accounting and accountability in the public services. To do so, an international comparative analysis of the research-practice gap in public sector accounting has been undertaken. This involved academic perspectives from over twenty countries, and practitioner perspectives from leading international professional accounting bodies actively involved in the public services arena. It was found that research is valued for informing practice, but engaging at a high level of policy engagement has been primarily by a small group of experienced researchers. For other researchers the impact accomplished may not always be valued highly in the academic community relative to other, more scholarly, activities. The book therefore looks at how engagement and impact between academics and practitioners can be increased. Laurence Ferry is Professor of Accounting at Durham University Business School, UK, and a prestigious Parliamentary Academic Fellow in public accountability 2018/19. He is a well-recognised international expert in public financial management. Iris Saliterer is Professor of Public and Non-Profit Management at the Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg, Germany, and was Schumpeter Fellow at Harvard University, USA, in 2015/2016. Her main research interests include performance management, public sector accounting and financial management (reforms), financial and administrative resilience, and innovative forms of public service delivery. Ileana Steccolini is Professor of Accounting & Finance at Newcastle University London, UK, and the chair and founder of the IRSPM accounting and accountability special interest group. Her research develops at the interface between accounting and public administration. Basil Tucker is currently a senior lecturer in the School of Commerce, UniSA Business School, Australia. He has published extensively on the relevance of academic research, and in particular, the research-practice "gap" in management accounting An International Analysis of the Research-Practice Gap on Accounting in the Public Services 6 Summary 6 Acknowledgements 8 Contents 9 About the Authors 10 List of Figures 11 Chapter 1: Concerns About the Research-Practice Gap on Accounting in Public Services 12 References 17 Chapter 2: Where There’s a Will... The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting 20 2.1 Overview 21 2.2 How Prevalent Is the Research-Practice Gap? 22 2.2.1 A Public Sector Perspective 23 2.3 How Has the Research-Practice Gap Been Investigated? 26 2.3.1 A Deeper Reflection on the Research-Practice Gap 27 2.4 Accounting Research and Practice: Closer Companions? 30 2.4.1 The Failure to Develop Questions of Practical Relevance to Practitioners 32 2.4.2 Presenting the Findings of Academic Research in a Form That Is Intelligible and Lucid for Practitioners 33 2.4.3 Ensuring Practitioner Access to Research Findings Through Appropriate Media, Distribution, or Communication Channels 34 2.4.4 Incentives for Academics to Undertake Practice-Relevant Research 35 References 36 Chapter 3: A Global View of the Research-Practice Gap in a Public Sector Context 43 3.1 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting in Australia 43 3.1.1 Contextualizing the Discussion 43 3.1.2 Specific Features of the Country Context 44 3.1.3 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 45 3.1.4 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 45 3.1.5 Examples of Good Practice 46 3.2 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting in Austria 47 3.2.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 47 3.2.2 Roles of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 48 3.2.3 Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap and Best Practices 49 3.2.4 Examples of Good Practice 49 3.3 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting in Belgium 50 3.3.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 50 3.3.2 Roles of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 51 3.3.3 Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 51 3.3.4 Examples of Good Practice 52 3.4 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting in Brazil 53 3.4.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 53 3.4.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 53 3.4.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 54 3.4.4 Examples of Good Practice 55 3.5 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting in Canada 56 3.5.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 56 3.5.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 57 3.5.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 58 3.5.4 Examples of Best Practice 58 3.6 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting in Denmark 58 3.6.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 58 3.6.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 59 3.6.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 60 3.6.4 Examples of Good Practice 60 3.7 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting in Finland 61 3.7.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 61 3.7.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 61 3.7.3 The Role of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 63 3.7.4 Examples of Good Practice 63 3.8 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting in France 64 3.8.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 64 3.8.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 65 3.8.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 66 3.8.4 Examples of Good Practice 66 3.9 The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting in the Public Sector in Germany, 68 3.9.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 68 3.9.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 68 3.9.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 69 3.9.4 Examples of Good Practice 70 3.10 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting in Ghana 70 3.10.1 Specific Features of Country Context 70 3.10.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening or Narrowing the Gap 71 3.10.3 The Role of Academics in Widening or Narrowing the Gap 72 3.10.4 Examples of Good Practice 73 3.11 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting in Greece 74 3.11.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 74 3.11.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 75 3.11.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 76 3.11.4 Examples of Good Practice 77 3.12 The Research-Practice Gap in Public Sector Accounting for Italy 77 3.12.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 77 3.12.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 78 3.12.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 79 3.12.4 Examples of Good Practice 80 3.13 The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting in the Public Sector in Malaysia 80 3.13.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 80 3.13.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 81 3.13.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 82 3.13.4 Examples of Good Practice 82 3.14 The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting in the Public Sector in Netherlands 84 3.14.1 Specific Features of the Country Context Which in Their View Affect the Research-Practice Gap Issue in the Country 84 3.14.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 86 3.14.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 86 3.14.4 Examples of Good Practice 87 3.15 The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting in the Public Sector in Nigeria 88 3.15.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 88 3.15.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 89 3.15.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 90 3.15.4 Examples of Good Practice 90 3.16 The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting in the Public Sector in Portugal 91 3.16.1 Context Affecting the Research-Practice Gap 91 3.16.2 Role of Institutions and Academics 92 3.16.3 Examples of Good Practice 93 3.17 The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting in the Public Sector in Romania 94 3.17.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 94 3.17.2 The Roles of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 94 3.17.3 The Role of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 95 3.17.4 Examples of Good Practice 96 3.18 The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting in the Public Sector in Spain 97 3.18.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 97 3.18.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 98 3.18.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 98 3.18.4 Examples of Good Practice 99 3.19 Research-Practice Gap on Accounting in the Public Services in Thailand 100 3.19.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 100 3.19.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 100 3.19.3 The Role of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 102 3.19.4 Examples of Good Practice 102 3.20 The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting in the Public Sector in the UK 103 3.20.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 103 3.20.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 104 3.20.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 105 3.20.4 Examples of Good Practice 106 3.21 The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting in the Public Sector in the USA 107 3.21.1 Specific Features of the Country Context 107 3.21.2 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 108 3.21.3 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 108 3.21.4 Examples of Good Practice 109 Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) 110 An International Analysis of the Research-Practice Gap on Accounting in the Public Services 110 ACCA View of What Affects the Research-Practice Gap 110 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 111 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 111 Examples of Good Practice 112 Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) 112 Specific Features That Affect the Research-Practice Gap from CIMA’s Perspective 112 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 113 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 114 Examples of Good Practice 115 Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) 116 Specific Features That Affect the Research-Practice Gap from CIPFA’s Perspective 116 The Role of Institutions in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 116 The Roles of Academics in Widening/Narrowing the Gap 117 Examples of Good Practice 117 References 118 Chapter 4: We Build Too Many Walls and Not Enough Bridges 124 4.1 Overview 125 4.2 Global Themes 125 4.3 Making Sense of the Research-Practice Gap on a Global Scale 129 4.4 Concluding Reflections 135 References 136 Chapter 5: Closing Reflections 138 References 142 Index 144 Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Concerns About the Research-Practice Gap on Accounting in Public Services (Laurence Ferry, Iris Saliterer, Ileana Steccolini, Basil Tucker)....Pages 1-8 Where There’s a Will... The Research-Practice Gap in Accounting (Laurence Ferry, Iris Saliterer, Ileana Steccolini, Basil Tucker)....Pages 9-31 A Global View of the Research-Practice Gap in a Public Sector Context (Laurence Ferry, Iris Saliterer, Ileana Steccolini, Basil Tucker)....Pages 33-113 We Build Too Many Walls and Not Enough Bridges (Laurence Ferry, Iris Saliterer, Ileana Steccolini, Basil Tucker)....Pages 115-128 Closing Reflections (Laurence Ferry, Iris Saliterer, Ileana Steccolini, Basil Tucker)....Pages 129-134 Back Matter ....Pages 135-137