Public Sector Accounting

Accounting is the most basic tool for recording operations occurred between an entity and other operators, which provides the information useful for decision making and accountability. The accounting system in a public entity represents the basis to correctly manage financial resources and to evaluate the government performance and the achievement of political goals. Government accounting can support the socioeconomic development of a community by providing to public managers and politicians the necessary information to support decision making and making them accountable to citizens. As any other tool, accounting does not have values of its own, and does not decide the allocation of resources, but provides decision makers with the appropriate set of information to allocate resources coherently with the pursued objectives. Accounting is also a communication tool, being considered as the “language of the business” and assumes a relevant role in the process of accountability.