PERMANENT STUDY GROUP XII “Public Sector Financial Management”
INNOVATING PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
AUGUST 24-26, 2016, UTRECHT (THE NETHERLANDS)
The Permanent Study Group “Public Sector Financial Management” invites academics and practitioners to participate in the EGPA annual conference that will be held at the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands) from 24th to 26th August 2016.
The deadline for abstract submissions is the 14th of May.
The European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) aims to be a nexus for academics and practitioners in the field of Public Administration in Europe. The Study Group “Public Sector Financial Management” within the EGPA is an intellectual platform for this specific theme. The Study Group intends:
• to create a network of scholars and practitioners to exchange ideas, views and experiences in relation to the challenges and opportunities faced by public financial management(PFM) ;
• to support and encourage theoretical and practical research into adoption and implementation of new tools in PFM, also in an interdisciplinary approach;
• to explore experiences and tendencies in innovations that have taken place in PFM;
• to consider the impact and the main benefits of reforms of PFM inside and outside national, regional and local governments, specifically as a means to improve governments’ accountability and financial sustainability;
• to encourage the comparison between European and non-European countries in the adoption of new approaches, tools and techniques in PFM, in particular the adoption of accrual accounting, IPSASs and financial reporting;
• to discuss changes in management accounting practices in the public sector;
• to create a platform of dialogue between scholars and practitioners on the challenges and opportunities offered by an innovative approach to PFM, trying to involve also policymakers;
• to support and stimulate the publication of research works in the field of innovation in PFM.
PFM encompasses complex activities through which financial resources are planned, allocated and controlled and are essential for effective and sustainable public service delivery. Strong and good PFM systems are also necessary to achieve accountable and transparent administrations as required nowadays. The need for accountability and transparency has led governments to introduce continuous reforms and innovations for implementing new practices or processes that aim to improve existing systems. These innovations have affected the different components of Public Financial Systems, such as planning, budgeting, accounting, reporting and auditing. The developments include accrual accounting, accrual budgeting, performance management systems, accountability and transparency reporting or performance measurement. There are also some reforms aimed at achieving the international harmonization of accounting, especially within the European Union. EPSAS (European Public Sector Accounting Standards) project falls into this category.
The EGPA Conference will be a platform for discussing and analysing innovations in PFM from different perspectives, trying to enhance the debate between academics and practitioners about the reforms carried out. The Study Group intends to critically explore the process of reforms that have been carried out and the challenges and the opportunities that the reforms and innovations provide from a theoretical and practical perspective. The Conference aims to be a network for stimulating the debate about the reforms and innovations at all governmental levels and different public sector organizations (central government, regional governments, local governments, public agencies, public hospitals and public universities).
We invite papers within the broad area of innovation in public financial management, namely research works that fall within the fields of budgeting, financial accounting, management accounting, reporting and auditing. The research may be contemporary, historical or comparative. In particular, the conference is mostly interested in research which addresses the following themes:
a) The introduction of performance budgeting and accrual budgeting.
b) Innovations in the adoption of accounting standards both at national and international level (i.e.: IPSAS; EPSAS; national reforms), including the harmonization of governmental accounting.
c) Innovations in cost accounting and management accounting in public sector entities.
d) Innovations in accountability and reporting and in particular experiences in the adoption of popular reporting, integrated reporting, sustainability reporting and performance reporting.
e) Accounting tools and techniques for public-private partnerships.
f) Innovations in financial and performance auditing for public sector entities.
g) The use of financial and management accounting information for public sector management.
h) Hurdles and facilitators in introducing accrual accounting: Any lessons learned?
Deadline and key dates:
Deadline for online submission of abstracts: 15 April 2016 14 May 2016
Deadline for decision and selection by the co-chairs: 5 May 2016 21 May 2016
Deadline for submitting the complete papers: 31 July 2016
Abstract guidelines
Abstracts should be up to 800 words long. They should include:
- Purpose of the paper;
- Research methodology;
- Main findings and implications.
Paper Guidelines
The paper must consist of 20 pages maximum (each page of 2.200 characters, spaces included, Times New Roman, text 12 and notes 10), including notes, diagrams, tables and bibliography. Either complete works or research in progress will be accepted as long as the aims of the research, the methodology and the actual or expected results are clearly shown.
Journal Special Issue
A theme about
Innovations in financial and management public sector accounting: For better or worse?
will be published by the end of 2017 on Public Money and Management gathering 2-3 papers and 1-2 debate articles.
Papers and debates to be considered for the theme should be submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 30 November 2016, following the journal guidelines, taking 6,000 words as size limit for papers and 1000 words for debate articles.
For further information about the journal, please visit:
http://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=RPMM20&page=instructions#.Vr4bAvLhCUk
For more information about the Public Sector Financial Management Permanent Study Group, please contact:
Eugenio Caperchione, University of Modena & Reggio Emilia (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Isabel Brusca, University of Zaragoza (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Sandra Cohen, Athens University of Economics and Business (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Francesca Manes Rossi, University of Salerno (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
or join the group on LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=4626381&trk=anet_ug_hmSome PSG XII related tweets may be published om Twitter at @eugekap
