The aim of this study is to bring under the spotlight the need for a
broader public sector accounting education plan that would
facilitate the development of participatory citizens. The study
develops a conceptual framework that links citizens’ government
accounting literacy with various community-related decisions and
in particular citizens’ voting decisions during election periods,
building on democracy, democratic participation and the image of
the ‘participatory citizen’. It is suggested that democratic
participation could be enhanced by educating citizens on issues
of public sector accounting, making them able to understand,
monitor and evaluate the performance of public administrations.
Furthermore, the study discusses ways of enhancing citizens’
government accounting literacy through the provision of public
sector accounting education in a continuous life-long learning
process. In particular, the introduction of school courses that
would target citizens’ education on these aspects from an early
age is discussed.