ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the changing role of the public sector accounting profession with particular reference to local government. The major impetus for the development of accounting as a profession was the emergence of the joint stock company as the predominant business form in the mid nineteenth century and the requirement for such companies to prepare annual audited accounts. Public sector accounting rests on the assumption that those entrusted with public funds must be required to demonstrate that those funds have been spent in accordance with their delegated authority. Professional accountants have experienced major changes under the new managerialist approaches adopted by local authorities. Within the finance departments the vertical segmentation between the higher level professional elite in the corporate ‘purchaser’ roles and the lower level in ‘provider’ roles, both within devolved budgetary units and within specialised central functions, such as: payroll, revenue collection and pensions administration.
