OBSTACLES TO PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING REFORM IN INDONESIA

This paper draws attention to the importance of improving the quality of public sector accounting in Indonesia, in line with the aims of reformasi (reform) and demokratisasi (democratisation), and in the context of decentralisation. It highlights a continuing lack of progress in reform of government accounting. This is attributable partly to a lack of interest in and understanding of the issues among newly empowered electors. Successive governments have been reluctant to push hard for accounting reform, not least because improved accountability poses a significant threat to politicians’ and bureaucrats’ overall income levels. In addition, current human resource management practices in the public sector have resulted in a shortage of accounting skills, and without these there is little prospect of successful reform in this area. A possible solution may be to establish a parallel civil service specifically to undertake the accounting functions of government.