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Latin–American public financial reporting: recent and future development
Author(s) -
Pérez Carmen Caba,
Hernández Antonio López
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
public administration and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1099-162X
pISSN - 0271-2075
DOI - 10.1002/pad.441
Subject(s) - latin americans , transparency (behavior) , accounting , agency (philosophy) , public sector , accounting information system , international development , international financial reporting standards , financial accounting , accounting standard , political science , economics , business , economic growth , sociology , economy , social science , law
In recent years, numerous Latin–American countries have carried out reforms in their public accounting systems, with technical cooperation provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Taking into account the lack of international accounting standards for the public sector, USAID has designed a model termed Integrated Financial Management System for Latin America and the Caribbean (IFMS or SIMAFAL). This model is intended to provide better financial information for governmental decision‐taking as regards the allocation of resources; a further goal is to achieve greater transparency and for a higher degree of responsibility to be accepted for the commitments made and the results of activities undertaken. Important changes are currently taking place on the international public accounting scene and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is pressing for the adoption of a set of international public accounting standards by Latin–American countries. In this article, we compare the level of information included in the year‐end governmental public report in Latin–American countries which have carried out their reforms outside SIMAFAL with that of others which have followed this model. Second, we examine the extent to which the public financial reporting practices recommended by IFAC coincide with those adopted by the above countries. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.