Accrual Accounting and the Efficiency of the Core Public Sector

This paper evaluates the ‘microeconomic’ case for the extension of accrual accounting to the core government for the purposes of performance measurement, competitive tendering and asset management. Having found the microeconomic case to be weak, it suggests that it is the potential role of accrual accounting as an indicator of the fiscal stance of the public sector (particularly in respect to intergenerational equity) which provides a convincing rationale for its introduction in core government, and that this has significant methodological implications.