Purpose – The aim of this paper is to examine whether there is potential for political parties to use flawed financial figures in performance measures designed to assist them in determining the viability and autonomy of New South Wales (NSW) local councils (NSW is the largest of Australia's...

Purpose – The aim of this paper is determine the impact financial reporting obligations and, in particular, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have on local government management decision making. In turn, this will lead to observations and conclusions regarding the research...

Introduction of greater private sector-inspired practices during the past several decades has had Australian local government struggling to produce satisfactory figures for myriad stakeholders. Now, more than ever, motivation exists for local government to manipulate accounting numbers. A prime...