Institutionalising multiple accountability logics in public services: Insights from Australia |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Accounting, School of Accounting, Information Systems and Supply Chain, College of Business and Law, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;2. Department of Accounting and Data Analytics, La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia;1. School of Commerce, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia;2. Institute of Management Accountants, Montvale, NJ, USA;1. Shenzhen Audencia Business School, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China;2. Audencia Business School, Nantes, 44300, France;3. Department of Finance, Strome College of Business, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA;4. Department of Accounting, College of Business, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, 94132, USA;1. Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, Department of Accounting, Finance and Banking, Manchester, M15 6BH, United Kingdom;2. Lancaster University Management School, Department of Accounting and Finance, Lancaster, LA1 4YX, United Kingdom;1. Department of Economics and Management “Marco Fanno”, University of Padua, Italy;2. School of Business and Management, Centre for Research Into Sustainability (CRIS), Centre for Critical and Historical Research on Organisation and Society (CHRONOS), Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK;1. Kate Tiedemann College of Business, University of South Florida-St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701, United States;2. Manning School of Business, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, 01854, United States;3. School of Management, University at Buffalo-SUNY, Buffalo, NY, 14260, United States |
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| Abstract: | This paper reports on a field study of how a range of inter-institutional and inter-organisational forces shape the evolving rhetoric and practice of multiple accountabilities in public services. Drawing on the institutional logics perspective, we carried out a qualitative field study in the Australian Commonwealth Public Service involving semi-structured interviews, two focus group discussions, and the examination of internal accounting, management reports, and government archival records. The findings suggest that emphasis on conventional instrumental mechanisms and reporting tools, such as budgeting and accrual-based reporting, support managerial (instrumental) accountability through compliance logics. We conclude that an emphasis on public (relational) accountability through public dialogue is central to the public sector accountability debate, and that more attention needs to be paid to the question of how to balance the dual logics (instrumental and relational) in public services. The findings provide practical insights for public sector managers, policymakers and governments responsible for designing and implementing reforms, accounting tools, and accountability practices. |
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| Keywords: | Accounting Accountability New public management Institutional logics Public sector Australia |
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