Introduction: The Gordian knot of public sector accounting and the role of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards

The international framework: accrual accounting prevalence European countries, as well as other countries worldwide, have recently witnessed profound changes in their accounting systems at all levels of government. These reforms have at their core the need for high-quality and relevant financial information that would eventually be used for transparency and accountability purposes. They have mainly been inspired by the private sector and they encapsulate almost unanimously the application of accrual accounting (Lapsley et al., 2009). In their effort to develop a robust accrual accounting reference framework, several countries have considered the use of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) as a benchmark of high-quality standards that enjoys international acceptance....