Accounting and accountability in local government: contributions from accounting history research

Abstract

This work provides an analysis of published historical research on accounting and accountability in local government (LG) and in public organizations with links to LG organizations. The study is expected to identify trends in historical research, the extent of adoption of theoretical perspectives, the nature of sources examined, the periods of time investigated, and the main contributions of published accounting research regarding the accounting’s past in LG. By so doing, this paper intends to highlight possible future research topics and make a call for rigorous and robust research on the development of systems of accounting and accountability in LG around the globe which recognizes that accounting, besides being perceived as a technical practice, is also a social practice, with implications for organisational and social functioning.