Suchergebnisse

Accounting information is widely used in benchmarking projects and for other comparative purposes. However, if comparability is low, the information from such comparisons can give incorrect information which in turn can lead to erroneous conclusions and decision making. In the past the level of harmonization of accounting practices as well as their comparability has been very low in the Swedish water and sewage sector. One explanation for this might be that most of the water and sewage operations were run by municipal administration and that until 1998 municipal accounting was only regulated on a voluntary basis. Through comparisons of survey data from the year before and five years after the 1997 legislation, this study analyzes whether the legislation has affected the level of harmonization. Even though municipal accounting now is regulated by law, the requirements for aspects such as auditing are still much lower for municipals than for companies; the requirements for accountability are much lower for municipal agents than for companies. The study also analyzes whether there is any relationship between form of association and level of harmonization. The results did not indicate any effect of legislation on harmonization. Surprisingly, the results did not show any significant relationship between form of association and level of harmonization.

Municipal and local governments seem to use other entities to a larger extent to organise and co-ordinate their activities. Thus the need and demand for consolidated financial statements has been observed in several countries as well as by international standard-setters such as the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB). Sweden introduced consolidated financial statements in municipalities and local governments in the 1980s and is one of the few countries where consolidated financial statements for municipalities and local governments are fully implemented. The aim of this study is to analyse similarities and differences in the approach to consolidated financial statements in standards issued by the IPSASB and the Swedish Council for Municipal Accounting (SCMA). The analysis is based on data from documentary studies and interviews. The results show that the two standard-setters approach the problem of consolidation quite differently. While the IPSASB seems to emphasise decision-making, the SCMA accentuates accountability. As a result, the standard-setters come to different conclusions about such matters as concept of control, valuation and methods of consolidation.

The regulation of Swedish municipal accounting has undergone fundamental changes over recent decades. Municipal accounting became regulated by law the 1st of January, 1998, after having been merely voluntarily regulated in the past. In accordance with the legislation, a standard-setting body was formed, with responsibility for development and interpretation of generally accepted accounting principles for municipal accounting. Important aims of the legislation and reform were to suppress 'creative' accounting and to increase the level of harmonisation and comparability. Using the lens of positive accounting theory as well as institutional theory, this paper describes and explains the impact of the legislation and standard setting in the Swedish municipal sector. We have used a triangulation approach, collecting data through a survey, documentary study and interviews. The overall results show that the reform has had a very limited impact on accounting practice. Compliance with accounting standards and legislation was in general poor. This result is in line with the assumptions of positive accounting theory. However, the study also shows that there are differences among the preparers. The supposition, suggested by institutional theory, that large municipalities should produce better accounting information (i.e. more in line with generally accepted accounting principles) than the municipalities in general, could not be rejected. Weak audit quality seems to be another important factor that explains the poor compliance with accounting standards.

Purpose – This paper focuses on the extent to which Swedish municipalities identified and communicatedrisks due to the COVID-19 outbreak early on. The purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent thesituational factors of the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the likelihood of municipalities disclosing COVID-19information as a subsequent event in the annual reports of 2019. Design/methodology/approach – Logistic regression models were used to estimate COVID-19 disclosure asa subsequent event. Data were handpicked from annual reports, audit reports and meeting minutes, or wereretrieved from publicly available sources. Findings – Regression results indicate that municipalities issuing their annual report in a later stage of thepandemic, in regions with a higher number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, were more likely to discloseCOVID-19 information as a subsequent event. However, the municipal factors used to capture the risk of asevere impact of the COVID-19 outbreak were not of major importance. In line with previous research, thisstudy shows that political and institutional factors have explanatory power in predicting and explainingaccounting disclosure choices. Originality/value – This paper contributes to research on accounting disclosures in urgent crises and on thespecific topic of subsequent events in the public sector. Few studies address subsequent events in a corporatesetting and, to the best of the authors' knowledge, none do so in the context of the public sector. This paper alsooffers insight into how explanatory factors, previously tested under normal conditions and circumstances,influence disclosure choices in an early stage of a health crisis characterized by uncertainty regarding bothoccurrence and consequences.

Les recherches antérieures sur le secteur privé indiquent que les auditeurs et les cabinets d'audit sont des acteurs importants pour garantir la qualité des rapports établis selon la comptabilité d'exercice. La présente étude a pour objectif de déterminer si les cabinets d'audit et les coûts/honoraires des audits ont une influence sur la probabilité des municipalités d'appliquer une gestion du résultat dans leurs comptes annuels. Les données empiriques, qui couvraient les exercices financiers 2011-2013, ont été extraites des rapports annuels ou d'autres sources. D'une manière générale, notre étude montre que la probabilité d'observer une gestion du résultat augmente lorsque les coûts/honoraires des audits augmentent. Des différences existent néanmoins quant à la probabilité d'observer une gestion du résultat selon le cabinet d'audit engagé. Cela veut dire que la qualité de l'audit est un facteur qui influe sur la probabilité d'observer une gestion du résultat dans les municipalités suédoises. L'étude indique également que les différents cabinets d'audit font des compromis différents entre la logique professionnelle et la logique commerciale, et que cela se retrouve dans la propension des clients à se lancer dans la gestion du résultat. Remarques à l'intention des praticiens Aujourd'hui, la majorité des pays développés ont adopté la comptabilité d'exercice pour les municipalités. Et qui dit comptabilité d'exercice dit risque de gestion du résultat. Compte tenu des problèmes liés à la qualité de la comptabilité, les audits financiers sont d'une grande importance. Cependant, notre étude montre qu'il n'existe pas de relation positive évidente entre les coûts/honoraires des audits et la qualité des audits. La capacité d'entraver la gestion du résultat semble varier d'un cabinet d'audit à l'autre. L'implication importante pour les praticiens est que les audits doivent s'appuyer sur des normes de qualité qui font l'objet d'un suivi et d'un contrôle, ce qui s'applique à la fois au niveau du système mais aussi lorsque les municipalités font appel à des cabinets d'audit pour des missions de vérification.

This paper examines the extent to which price is the determining factor in the procurement of audit services. In Sweden 72% of municipalites chose audit firms with the lowest bid. Both political competition and competition between audit firms were found to affect whether price was the decisive criterion or not.

Municipal corporations can be seen as a method of disintegrating municipal operations but retaining control through those corporations. We assume that the municipal influence of the corporation can be described through the concept of governance strategy. Through a case study of seven corporations in one Swedish municipality, we found that emphasis was put on corporate strategy as a governance mechanism and that the board only retained a latent capacity. Furthermore, financial control and executive compensation were hardly ever used as a governance mechanism, which led us to formulate the 'chamber concert' hypothesis: The use of governance mechanisms is influenced by traditions, norms, knowledge, and governance needs.