Our editorial aims to adopt the approach of Alvesson and Deetz (Citation2000) and Alvesson and Sandberg (Citation2020), based on three steps: insight, critique, and transformative redefinitions. Accordingly, we first start a conversation about the topics investigated in the CIGAR 2024 annual issue (insight and critique); then we try to identify a fil rouge linking them, and problematize some key paths to follow related to the current developments of public sector accounting (transformative redefinitions).