Comparing Cost Accounting Use across European Countries: The Role of Administrative Traditions, NPM Instruments, and Fiscal Stress

• Published in: Public administration review Vol. 81; no. 2; pp. 299 - 307
• Main Authors: Mohr, Zachary T., Raudla, Ringa, Douglas, James W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.03.2021; American Society for Public Administration
• Subjects: Comparative studies; Cost accounting; Governmental accounting; New public management; Public administration; Stress; Traditions
• ISSN: 0033-3352; 1540-6210
• DOI: 10.1111/puar.13162

Cost accounting in public organizations is not often studied from a comparative perspective, particularly at the national level of government. While it is often claimed that factors such as New Public Management (NPM) and fiscal stress are the primary drivers of government cost accounting, an important but understudied factor is the administrative tradition of the government, which may influence the use of cost accounting and tools like it. This article examines the perceptions of top public executives regarding cost accounting use across 19 European countries. It focuses on three key factors identified in the literature as potentially being associated with cost accounting use—administrative traditions, NPM instruments, and fiscal stress. Findings show that administrative tradition and the use of NPM instruments are related to cost accounting use, but fiscal stress is not related to cost accounting use in the countries in our study.