In recent years, the local government sector in European countries has undergone important changes involving, among other things, the externalisation of local public service provision through various forms of corporatisation, public-public collaboration, public-private partnerships and...

As change sweeps across the public sector, a huge range of accounting and financial management challenges are created. This textbook analyses the reforms that are being introduced to deal with these challenges and their global impact on the public sector. Readers are provided with an...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of performance measurement systems as technologies of government in the operationalisation of smart city programmes. It answers the research question: how do the development and use of performance measurement systems support smart cities...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight and compare insights from research conducted in different disciplines on the effects of the use of calculative practices in academia. It also acts as an introduction to the special issue on “governing by numbers: audit culture and...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the content of the sustainability reports of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the factors influencing the sustainability information they disclose. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing upon the literature on sustainability disclosure,...

Local governments are increasingly entering into partnerships with the private sector in the “externalization” of public service delivery. While the financial and non-financial interests of the partners involved may appear to be in opposition and potentially un-reconcilable, this is not...

Purpose This paper explores how public audit institutions establish themselves as distinct actors on the public stage through communication practices. By focussing on the journey of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), this paper addresses the following research question: how does a...