Public-sector Financial Management and E-government: The Role Played by Accounting Systems

The paper investigates the relationship between two central features of public-sector financial management reforms: accounting innovations and e-government. It focuses on the quality and ease of access to information provided by different accounting systems and e-government strategies. Based on a sample of 33 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, the findings underscore the need to adopt a holistic perspective that considers not only technological issues but also the quality and integrity of information, its international comparability, and the socioeconomic context. The results suggest that both technical and social factors should be considered in adopting e-government.