Construction and representation of public sector accounting : a case study of implementation of accrual accounting in the south korean public sector

Abstract

In this thesis, I explore the relationship between public sector accounting reform and the accounting profession in the context of the implantation of accrual accounting in the South Korean public sector. The accounting literature suggests the accounting profession advocates public sector reforms, such as public sector accrual accounting, because they often require accountants' functional knowledge and thus increase accountants' power and influence in the public sector (Power, 1997; Guthrie, 1998; Lapsley et al., 2009). The literature assumes that the accounting profession exclusively has accounting knowledge, and thus expands their jurisdiction to the public sector (Abbott, 1988; Gendron et al., 2007). However, by providing evidence from the South Korean cases, I argue that public sector accounting reforms do not necessarily increase the power and influence of accountants in the public sector. In South Korea, some public servants acquired accounting knowledge, and represented it as a part of the public sector budget process. They institutionalised their version of public sector accounting by obtaining postgraduate degrees and publishing books and professional journal articles, and thus were recognised as experts in the public sector accounting field. In contrast, some Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), who were employed in the government for accrual accounting implementation because of their functional accounting knowledge and CPA qualifications, gave up their accounting identity to survive the dominance of public servants. The accountants avoided accounting work, preferred bureaucratic designations, and de-emphasised accounting qualifications to present themselves as typical public servants. These findings suggest that functional accounting knowledge does not always make accountants powerful in the public sector, and that symbolic aspects of accounting knowledge in forms of membership, qualifications and designation can be critical factors to the accounting jurisdiction, such as the public sector. This study raises questions about the nature of accounting knowledge in the public sector. I argue that an actor's social capital in forms of membership, connections and networks can contribute to construction and representation of accounting knowledge. In South Korea, actors recognised as public sector accounting experts were able to mobilise their social capital through their educational backgrounds and social connections in addition to acquiring functional accounting knowledge. In conclusion, I suggest that accounting researchers should break the taken-for-granted bond between the accounting profession and accounting knowledge, and re-assess the process in which professionals' accounting knowledge is constructed and represented in the public sector. Show more