ABSTRACT
Accrual accounting – the system of accounting where transactions are recognized in the accounting period where the transaction occurred, regardless of when the relevant payments or receipts are made or received. Capital expenditure – expenditure on the purchase, construction, development or enhancement of assets that will be of long-term benefit to the organization and/or to the public. Merit goods – commodities (goods and services) that are excludable but which for reasons of equity governments decide to provide because the market would underprovide them (such as education). Public goods – commodities (goods and services) that are non-rivalrous and nonexcludable and which markets would fail to provide. Public value theory – the theory put forward by Mark Moore (1995) that, just as managers in the private sector seek to create shareholder value, public managers seek to create public value. Revenue/operating expenditure – expenditure that is not capital expenditure.
