VERSLAS:TEORIJA IR PRAKTIKA

BUSINESS:THEORY AND PRACTICE

2010
11(1): 77-85

ACCOUNTING CHANGES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR IN ESTONIA

Juta Tikk

Tallinn University of Technology, Akadeemia tee 3, Tallinn, Estonia

Estonian Business School, Lauteri 3, Tallinn, Estonia
E-mail: [email protected]

Received 15 February 2009; accepted 15 November 2009

Abstract. This paper reviews the implementation ofthe accrual accounting in the entities ofthe Estonian public sector. It gives
a brief overview ofthe historical development of governmental accounting theories and examines the introduction of theory-
based accounting policy. It explains main problems and risks to face in connection with the accounting system change process
and offers solutions. This study attempts to answer the following research question: how to gain full benefit from accounting
information in public sector entities. As to general scientific research methods, mainly comparative analysis and description were
used. This study reveals as follows. Firstly, approach to accrual accounting leads tofinancialinformation that fulfils needs for true
and fair accounting data for decision making purposes. Secondly, reform of public sector financial accounting can improve the
quality and the quantity of services provided to the citizens. Thirdly, the Estonian accounting regulation has recently succeeded
a remarkable evolution. Fourthly, considerable problems that need to be solved have arisen from the process ofthe transition
to the accrual basis accounting. The given study does not touch upon the development of budgeting systems for public sector
entities. Hopefully, this study will contribute to further optimization of accounting systems and management tools for public
sector entities in Estonia. Therefore, it will contribute to economic growth and development of business environment. Studies
carried out by independent researchers on the move to accrual based accounting in public sector entities are relatively scarce.

Keywords: accrual accounting, cash based accounting, government accounting systems, Estonia.

APSKAITOS P O K Y C I A I ESTIJOS V I E S A J A M E SEKTORIUJE

Juta Tikk

Talino technologijos universitetas, Akadeemia tee 3, Talinas, Estija

Estijos verslo mokykla, Lauteri 3, Talinas, Estija
El. paitas [email protected]

Gauta 2009-02-15; priimta 2009-11-15

Santrauka. Apivelgiamas kaupimo principu pagrjstos apskaitos taikymas Estijos valstybiniame sektoriuje, atskleidiiama vieäojo
sektoriaus apskaitos teorijos raida, nagrinéjamas teorija pagrjstos apskaitos politikos jdiegimas. Straipsnyje atskleidiiamos pagrin-
dinés problemos ir pavojai, su kuriais susiduriama keiâiant apskaitos sistem^, siùlomi sprendimai. Siuo tyrimu ieákoma atsakymo
i tokj klausim^ - kaip kuo veiksmingiau naudoti apskaitos informacija vieäajame sektoriuje. Tyrime taikoma lyginamoji analizé
ir apraäymas kaip bendri mokslinio tyrimo metodai. Sis tyrimas atskleidzia, pirma, kaip kaupimo principo poiiûrio taikymas
leidíia gauti finansinç informacija, tenkinan¿iq reikalavimus tikros ir teisingos apskaitos duomenij, reikalingij sprendimams
priimti. Antra, vieSojo sektoriaus apskaitos reforma gali pagerinti pilieiiams teikiamij paslaugq kokybç ir kiekybç. Treâia, Estijos
apskaitos reglamentavimas ? Ketvirta, nemaiai problemij, kurias reikia iasprçsti, kilo pereinant prie kaupimo principu pagrjstos

ISSN 1648-0627 print / ISSN 1822-4202 online doi: 10.3846/btp.2010.09

h ttp://www. btp. vgtu. It/en
78 /. Tikk. Accounting changes in the public sector in Estonia

apskaitos. Tyrimas nesiejamas su vieáojo sektoriaus subjektij biudzeto sistemij plétra. Tikimés, kad ais tyrimas padés gerinti
apskaitos sistemas ir jij valdymo priemones Estijos vieäajame sektoriuje. Tyrimo rezultatai naudingi siekiant plétoti ekonomik^
ir verslo aplink^. Tyrimai, atlikti nepriklausomi} mokslininki}, skatinaniiij pereiti prie kaupimo principu pagrjstos apskaitos
vieäajame sektoriuje, yra gana menki.

ReikSminiai iodziai: kaupimo principu grjsta apskaita, grynijjq pinigi} principu grjsta apskaita, valdymo apskaitos sistemos,
Estija.

1. Introduction
Over the last decades, much time and effort is being spent This study attempts to answer the following research
to move from cameralistic accounting towards accrual ac- question: how to gain full benefit from accounting infor-
counting in order to increase transparency of the public mation in public sector entities.
accounting data. This movement can be considered as a part The paper is organised into three sections. The first sec-
of an almot world-wide public sector reform. Estonia is no tion introduces the historical development ofthe different
exception to the rule. During the recent dramatic changes accounting systems for public sector and sets a theoretical
in business environment, Estonia has successfully passed framework for the public sector reforms. The following sec-
a financial and a management reform. tion gives an overview of the modernisation of Estonian
The transition to market economy started in Estonia financial accounting and reporting process for public sector.
similarly to other Central and Eastern European countries The next section identifies the major problems to be paid
in the late 1980ies. The legal reform in accounting that took attention. Finally the concluding remarks are presented.
place at the same time required the preparation and imple-
mentation of new legal acts, which would lay foundations
2. Theoretical framework
for the accounting system characteristic of a market econo-
my. The first step here was the Regulation of Accounting,
2.1. The historical development ofthe government
which laid foundations for the implementation of financial
accounting systems
accounting in accordance with the International Financial
Reporting Standards under the conditions of market econo- While taking a closer look into the historical development
my ( Järve 2006). A further development was the Accounting ofthe government accounting systems one can distinguish
Act that came into force on January 1, 1995. The Act was between two opinions (Sevim et al. 2008: 2466):
prepared by the members of the Estonian Accounting 1. Classical Government Accounting
Standards Board; three members out of seven were expa- 2. Modern Government Accounting
triate Estonians who had international working experience The classical opinion can be viewed as Cameral and
in Sweden, Canada and Great Britain. The contribution of Schneider Accounting Systems, and the modern opinion
the specialists having international experience in market can be separated into Constante and Logismography
economies was crucial in order to prevent several mistakes Accounting Systems.
and problems (Haldma 2006). According to Monsen (2008), cameral accounting was
The Accounting Act, which was really progressive at that developed as early as the 16th century onwards in order
time, had its drawback in the determination ofthe frame- to contribute to increased control of public money. It was
work that could be implemented in the public sector only to applied in Austria in 1768 for the first time. Most of the
a limited extent. Although the generally accepted accoun- literature dealing with cameral accounting is published in
ting principles and concepts apply both to the business and German, and it seems to be known only to a small extent
public sector, financial accounting and its administration beyond the German speaking countries.
are characterized by certain peculiarities due to the diffe- The cameral accounting system only consists of the
rent, and in some aspects also contradictory, purposes of income and expense estimations included in the budget,
business entities and public sector entities, which had not and the results ofthe budget applications on special tables
been fully taken into account by the act. and columns. "Cameral accounting has developed a spe-
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the imple- cial account for use in cameral single-entry bookkeeping"
mentation of the accrual accounting in the entities of the (Monsen 2008:55).
Estonian public sector. In that connection a brief overview In this system, only monitoring the cash now is pos-
ofthe historical development of governmental accounting sible. The receivables and payables of the State, as well as
theories and examination of the introduction of theory- its assets are excluded from the scope of the system. The
based accounting policy are given. Main problems and risks cameral accounting system was accepted as a benchmark for
in the accounting system change process have brought up Central Europe. Throughout its historical development, the
and solutions offered. cameral accounting system appeared in two types as. Simple
Verslas: teorija irpraktika, 2010,11(1): 77-85 79

Cameral accounting system and New Cameral accounting of government transactions. This system is similar to the
system. The most important innovation brought with the American Accounting System as it simultaneously records
New Cameral accounting system was the inclusion of the the transactions both according to their dates and subjects
accrual basis into the system (Sevim et al. 2008). The New (Nikitin2001).
Cameral accounting system is sometimes referred to as
"enterprise cameralistics" or "commercial cameralistics".
2.2.The Basis of New Public Management and
Monsen (2008) presents cameral accounting as an alter- New Public Financial Management
native to accrual accounting. He appears to rely on Wynne
(2007) for support. Monsen (2008) stresses the cash focused The necessity for public institutions to work more effici-
accounting as a benefit for governmental entities and con- ently is under discussion in almost all developed countries.
cludes as follows. "A better strategy would be to continue The most wide-spread reform strategy in the given field is
using cameralistics and by adding enterprise cameralistics. New Public Management (NPM) whose main idea is use
By so doing we can continue to prepare cash information the action model of the private sector for the public one
as the basic information for the government and we can (Barzelay 2001; Christensen&Laegreid 2001, 2007).
add accrual accounting information for those government Madise (2000) referring to papers by Mastronardi and
units where such information would be of interest" (Monsen Schröter&Wollmann summarises the contents of NPM as
2008: 59). follows:
The Schneider accounting system follows the cameral a) transition to management by results ("orientation to
accounting system. It was introduced in the middle of the outcome" instead of "orientation to input");
nineteenth century. In this system, in addition to the cash b) orientation to clients' (service philosophy and "clients"'
flows and budget transactions; settlement transactions and satisfaction as the criterion of legitimacy of public
off budget receivables and payables accounts are also inclu- administration);
ded. The system enables issuing a balance sheet through c) "cost orientation" of administrative performance (intro-
making the profit-loss calculations. In the Schneider duction of shared responsibility for providing a "service"
accounting system, the records are kept according to double and the related costs incurred);
entry system. "In common with the double account system, d) "service" or "product orientation" (treatment of all the
therefore, Schneider&Co. ' s record keeping system enables state's activities, both medical care and giving residence
the preparation of two financial statements that can be or pollution permits as services (products)).
combined to produce what would today be regarded as the To achieve the mentioned goals, according to NPM the
conventional balance sheet, but there the similarity ends" following means have to be applied:
(Edwards 1999:175). The cash book which was kept in the a) replacement of legal rules and superior orders by tasks
cameral system is not included in this system. The journal, and contracts, on the basis of which it would be possible
which was used in this system for the first time, consists to chose freely the ways of fulfilling the task;
of the daily income and expense records. The income and b) separation of strategic management (setting objectives)
expense book is kept in order to carry out the audit required and operational management (meeting objectives);
by the budget (Edwards 1999). c) adoption of the principles of business management in
The Constante Accounting System was founded in the the management of public institutions (according to
end of the nineteenth century by F. Hiigli and applied in the some authors also in controlling the whole state);
Swiss Canton of Berne. In this system, in addition to the bud- d) "splitting" monolithic administration into decentral-
get calculations, the asset calculations are also included. All ized, autonomous parts, which work on the contractual
transactions are recorded according to the double entry sys- basis;
tem, and the system is capable of showing the profit and loss e) setting circumscribed objectives for institutions and offi-
statuses at the end of thefiscalyear (Sevim et al. 2008). cials as well as criteria for performance appraisal;
In the Logismography Accounting System, the budget f) providing officials with more freedom and consequent
accounts and asset accounts are seen together, similar to responsibility to make use of their personal creativity
the Constante accounting system. In this system, arising and activity;
from the understanding that the assets from the state have g) abandonment of detailed budgets (i.e. delegation of
an owner and an administrator, two separate accounts are responsibility to the "front line");
held as the owner (state) account and the attendant (public h) working out methods to increase officials' initiative;
servants) account. The Logismography system covers an i) implementation of competitive elements in public
important place among the government accounting sys- administration under the consideration that competi-
tems as it is a technique able to show both the budget and tion will ensure higher quality of labour and more eco-
asset accounts at any time, and takes into account the cost nomical exploitation of resources.
80 /. Tikk. Accounting changes in the public sector in Estonia

For the majority of developed countries and various of transferring the strategies to non-OECD countries and
international institutions the main reason for enacting the question whether all countries possess the management
public sector reform was the need to increase transparency potential required for the reformation of the accounting
of public recourse management. Moreover, there is a gro- system.
wing need for non-political civil service. According to the Randma and Annus (2000) warn us against simplified
NPM literature referred by Grossi (2009), two main factors solutions and insist on prudence while transferring Western
account for these reforms. First, the Maastricht Treaty limits European models into Estonia, emphasizing the qualitative
public spending and debt. Second, due to the imbalance in and cultural differences ofthe environment ofthe adminis-
the cost-quality ratio of public services provided there is trative reform. It is important to bear in mind that not in
a need to renegotiate the "social contact" between public every country the NPM strategy has been successful.
administration and citizens (Grossi 2009:212).
The complexity of the problems arising from public 2.3.Discussion ofthe government accounting
administration reforms is subject to several discussions.
systems in use nowadays
Public administration is not a circumscribed phenomenon
existing in an isolated environment, but part of the state Today the accounting systems in use are the developed
and society. versions ofthe four basic models presented in the first sec-
Administrative reforms have given rise to a controversy tion of this paper. According to the Government Financial
both in Estonia and all over the world. Laar (2000) finds the Reporting Accounting Issues and Practices (2000), four
challenges faced by the Republic of Estonia to be similar to specific bases of accounting have been implemented by
those faced by developed countries. The need for reforms governments of different countries: the cash basis, modi-
is caused by citizens' dissatisfaction with the quality ofthe fied cash basis, modified accrual basis and accrual basis
services provided, too high expenses ofthe public sector, the accounting.
pressure arising from globalization and competition betwe- Under the cash basis method, transactions and events
en countries, which compels the administrative system to are recognised when cash is received or paid. One main
work more efficiently to support economic development. financial report - the Statement of Cash Flows - is presen-
Guthrie et al (2005) find that public administrative ted. It is a simple and cheap approach with long historical
reforms havefinancialdimensions, i.e. it is necessary to have stems. There are strong supporters of cash basis accounting
access to qualitative and up-to-date financial information all over the world. For example Monsen (2008) finds cash
in order to administer the public sector in an effective way. information to be the basic information for the government
They claim that the reformation ofthe public sector will give and accrual accounting information should be presented
rise to the reformation ofthe financial accounting system for those government units where such information would
ofthe public sector at least in five key areas „...including be of interest. However, due to the cash basis recording and
recognising the transactions, traditional accounting systems
changes to financial reporting systems, the development
are not able to provide adequate information of assets, liabi-
of commercially based, market-oriented management sys-
lities, revenues and expenses. There is no attempt to mach
tems and structures to deal with the pricing and provisi-
revenues and expenses in measuring profit under cash basis
on of public services, the development of a performance
approach. In fact, profit is not a goal for public sector enti-
measurement approach; the devolution of, or delegation
ties. The most important issue is the proper determination
of, budgets; changes to internal and external public sector
of all expenses for each and every public sector service to
audits..." (Guthrie et al 2005:2). They are stating that the
decide whether or not to finance the service. Cash basis
move to accrual based accounting is generally part of New
accounting is not the best option because under that appro-
Public Management reform strategy - New Public Financial
ach expense is not associated with service cost.
Management. Over the last two decades there have been
strong supporters for the transition to accrual accounting Modified cash basis approach concentrates in public
by governments (Hughes 2007). However, the use of accrual sector entities on the measurement of current financial
based accounting is not a new idea and the discussion for resources and changes in those resources. There is some
and against its use by public sector has been held for cen- information on receivables and payables. Although these
turies (Wynne 2007). are not recognised as assets and liabilities, the collection of
Based on the experience in the reformation of the information on the amounts and types of near-cash equiva-
lents will allow the reporting entity to better control these
financial accounting system in the public sector performed
amounts. This approach allows amounts appropriated for
within the framework of administrative reforms carried out
a particular financial year (usually around one month after
or those still in process in OECD countries, Diamond (2006)
year end) to be recognised as a payment ofthat year. Here
discusses the universalism ofthe paradigm, the possibilities
Verslas: teorija irpraktika, 2010,11(1): 77-85 81

we distinguisb commercial modified cash basis approach, Board, the use of accrual accounting by public sector is
which includes some elements from accrual basis accoun- still rare. Table below presents governments ofthe OECD
ting such as inventory and property capitalisation. countries having adopted accrual accounting at the state
Modified accrual basis approach is defined as method level as of year 2007.
under which revenues are recognized in the period they To date, all the member countries ofthe European Union,
become available and measurable, and expenditures are Japan, Russia, and Switzerland have been added to the coun-
recognized in the period the associated liability is incur- tries shown in Table. There are probably more countries in
red. In other words, it has some exceptions to the accrual the process of adopting the accrual based IPSASs than those
basis accounting. Generally, variations include recognising listed here, but there is no agency responsible for gathering
revenues on a cash basis, expensing certain classes of assets this information together.
and liabilities at the time of acquisition or construction. The accounting system ofthe public sector accounting
For example - all assets apart from infrastructure, defense entities of above mentioned countries can be characterised
and cultural/heritage assets are recognised. The latter are as a gradual transformation from cash to accrual accounting
expensed when they occur. Sometimes the terms "modi- basis. The European Commission has included the IPSASs
fied cash basis" and "modified accrual basis" are mistakenly for accrual accounting basis into its accounting system.
considered to be synonyms. Some former member countries ofthe EU practically have
Modified cash basis and modified accrual basis appro- concluded the process of implementation accrual accoun-
aches have identical drawbacks to cash basis approach - ting, some new member countries have barely started.
expenses are not clearly allocated to the services, assets and Estonia, a member ofthe EU, has also adopted accrual
liabilities could be undervalued. basis accounting for public sector. The first consolidated
Accrual basis accounting is defined as accounting, which balance sheet in Estonia was prepared as of December 31,
recognises the impact of a business event as it occurs, regar- 2004, and the first consolidated income statement for the
dless of whether the transaction affected cash. Even though year 2005. The new general rules for organization of the
cash is not received or paid in a credit transaction, they accounting and financial reporting ofthe state and the sta-
are recorded because they are consequential in the future te accounting entities that became effective from January
income and cashfiowofthe entity. Accrual basis accounting 1, 2004 were already based on the accrual based IPSASs.
gives the most accurate picture ofthe financial position of However, in Estonia a cash basis budgeting is being used.
the company. By posting all transactions as they occur, there Transition to full accrual basis accounting is a long pro-
is always a full and complete record of finances to access. cess. The leaders of French and UK reforms think that a tho-
Accrual basis accounting will enhance the quality and trans- rough analysis can be carried out only after the new system
parency of public sector financial reporting by providing has been in use for several years (Wynne 2007). The benefit
better information for public sector financial management from improved quality and better resource management
and decision making. will be clear even later.
W^hile speaking about the accrual accounting at the Unfortunately, there are almost no studies carried out
state level, the full implementation will mean the usage of by independent researchers on the actual cost benefit effect
both the accrual basis accounting system and the accrual on the move to accrual accounting.
basis budgetary system. In spite of strong support by the
International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS)

Table. Tbe use of accrual accounting by countries (Wynne 2007: 26)

Country Adopted by central government Accrual budgeting used

Spain 1989 No
New Zealand 1993 Yes
Sweden 1993 Yes
Australia 1994 Yes
USA 1998 No
UK 2002 Yes
Canada 2003 No
Finland 2005 No
France 2006 No
82 /. Tikk. Accounting changes in the public sector in Estonia

3. Regulation of accounting for public sector Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). Nowadays,
entities in Estonia the new general rules for organization ofthe accounting and
financial reporting ofthe state and the state accounting enti-
3.1. Modernisation of governmental accounting ties {riigi raamatupidamise iildeeskiri) that became effective
in Estonia from January 1,2004 are in use as the Estonian equivalent
According to Haldma (2004), during the process of impro- to the IPSASs. The new general regulations as they apply to
ving Estonian financial accounting and reporting regulati- public sector entities, are very similar to the IPSASs.
on, one can distinguish between three stages: In the given stage the accounting principles in the
1. the introductory stage (1990-1994); public and private sector were harmonised. The regulation
2. the system building stage (1995-2002) and of accounting in the mentioned period can be compared to
3. the system improvement stage (since 2003) the Canadian model, where standard documents are issued
In the introductory stage ofthe development of accoun- by both the state and the respective ministry (Curristine
ting the main emphasis was laid on the regulation of accoun- 2007).
ting in business entities. The reformation of accounting in the public sector was
The regulation of accounting in public institutions was characterised by the top-down implementation approach.
under serious focus only in the system building stage. The The leading role in the reformation process was taken by
situation was analysed by the Ministry of Finance and the the Ministry of Finance. Curristine (2007: 33) emphasizes
conclusion was that the existing regulations did not meet the better co-ordination, decision-makers' sufficient access to
expectations set for the public accounting system both from information and pressure to carry out the reform as the
the aspect of internal and external users. The Accounting positive aspects of such an approach. Negative aspects are
Act almost did not touch upon the regulation of accounting seen, for instance, in limited flexibility, lack of motivation
in the public sector. However, the given field was regulated in subdivisions and possible distortion ofthe situation, as
by the regulation of accounting for public institutions and subdivisions might want to present data that are expected
decrees by the Minister of Finance. instead ofthe actual data.
The accounting methods used were a mixture of cash- It is obvious that cameral accounting as an information
basis and accrual-basis accounting, and therefore the system is not a satisfactory management tool for decision
outcome was unsystematic both in content and in form. makers. As it was revealed in part 2.3, the major drawback of
The lack of systematic methods also casts doubt upon the the traditional accounting is the inability to provide comple-
reliability ofthe data. Thus, we can claim that the state did te data of assets (especially claims andfixedassets), liabilities
not have a true overview about its assets, liabilities, accrual (especially long-term liabilities), revenues and expenses.
revenues and expenses. There were two parallel accounting Under the accrual accounting basis the transactions and
and reporting systems - bookkeeping and fulfillment of events are recorded and recognised in the statements when
the budget, whereas the latter was considered of primary they occur. Therefore, financial statements prepared in
importance. The mentioned systems did not have any logi- accordance with the rules ofthe accrual based accounting
cal connection. It was not possible to consolidate the data. represent true and fair information ofthe assets, liabilities,
Consistent information was available only in accounting revenues and expenses over the reporting periods. At the
for money earned and spent (Jansen 2004). The regulation same time, the public sector entities have introduced the
of accounting in Estonia in those days is comparable to the accounting approach for the business sector which leads to
UK model, where the issuance of standard documents was increased transparency and improved performance mea-
the responsibility of the respective ministries (Curristine surement.
2007: 33).
The system improvement stage saw a breakthrough in 3.2.The problems in introducing accrual based
the regulation of accounting in public sector entities. The accounting in the public sector
harmonisation ofthe legal acts regulating financial accoun-
Due to the modernisation of the accounting policy in the
ting with the International Financial Reporting Standards
public sector certain problems have arisen that need to be
fell into the same time period with the reformation pro- solved. They can be categorised as follows:
ject of public sector accounting. A new accounting act was
1. Problems arising from the development ofthe struc-
worked out, which was enforced on January 1, 2003 and
ture of the governmental accounting system - at present
it also applied to the public sector with a few exceptions.
there are 227 municipal authorities, as a result ofthe reform
Accounting in the public sector was converted into accrual their number is seen as 20. The decrease in the number
basis accounting and harmonised with the International of municipal authorities in the process ofthe administra-
Accounting Standards. The new general regulations of public tive reform will bring along a change in the number of
sector accounting were already based on the International
Verslas: teorija irpraktika, 2010, 11(1): 77-85 83

accounting entities and in the structure ofthe accounting that need to be solved have arisen from the process ofthe
system. transition to the accrual basis accounting.
2. Consolidation of statements - problems arising from The next steps in the research project are: First, it is
the complexity of administrative structure(s). In accor- vital to design appropriate administrative structure which
dance with accrual-basis accounting a true and fair col- would be optimal for true and fair collection and reporting
lection of information about all assets, liabilities, revenues of information. Second, we must create a model for har-
and expenses is of great significance at the level of both an monising government accounting and budgeting systems.
individual organisation and the whole system. A valid mathematical description can explain the relative
3. Qualification training for specialists and the quality importance of different components of a system, can explain
of financial statements. Accrual accounting is much more what happens when parts ofthe system are changed, and
complex than cash basis accounting. At present we can feel can lead to predictions about what a system will do. It also
that accountants do not have enough theoretical know- helps to decrease or eliminate errors in system.
ledge. It means that practical ways of accounting are pas-
sed on and the same mistakes or misinterpretations recur
4. Conclusions
"from generation to generation". Financial accounting for
the public sector is taught at few universities or in a very This paper reviews the implementation of the accrual ac-
limited scope. In addition, staff of ministries, the auditors, counting in the entities of the Estonian public sector. It
the government, members of Parliament - they all need gives a brief overview of the historical development of
continuous training in this field. governmental accounting theories and examines the in-
troduction of theory-based accounting policy. It explains
4. Sociological and psychological problems - the re-
main problems and risks to face in connection with the
form has been slower in the public than in the business
accounting system change process.
sector. Also academic circles have been passive in refor-
ming accounting in the public sector. Sometimes general This study attempts to answer the following research
resistance to innovations has been noticed. question: how to gain full benefit from accounting infor-
Additionally, the author would like to point out the in- mation in public sector entities.
creased need for non-political civil service. A lot has been done in Estonia to create contemporary
5. Departmental conservatism - reforms in the public accounting system in the public sector. A reliable founda-
sector began later and progressed at a lower speed than tion has been laid for the transition to full accrual-basis
in the business sector. Therefore the public sector was an accounting, which is also supported by developed IT-sys-
impediment to the economic development ofthe country tems. Nevertheless, it is evident that both the administrative
(the country developed fast due to the rapid development and the accounting system need further regulation. The
ofthe business sector). reformation ofthe public sector, including the reformation
6. Problems arising from internationalisation - the of accounting, will bring along improved quality of services,
implementation and amendment of equivalents ofthe in- including information. However, it will be a long-term and
ternational public sector accounting standards. Ensuring expensive process, the benefit of which can be seen to full
the transparency and understanding of the statements. extent only after decades.
Increased complexity of financial control.
References
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Juta TIKK. Lecturer, doctoral student at Estonian Business School, the author of Finantsarvestus [Financial Accounting], a text-
book for vocational schools, published in 2003, 2008 and 2009. She is the author of numerous (over 20) research papers, published
in professional journals in Estonia and Bulgaria. She has presented papers at the international conferences held in Estonia and
foreign countries (Malaysia, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Lithuania). Her main research interests include governance and accounting in
the public sector.
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