Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
7. Middle East International Conference On Contemporary Scientific Studies, Bayrut, Lübnan, 03 Mart 2022, ss.318-324
Government accounting is an important tool that provides accountability and transparency in
the use of these resources against the society, which finances basic public services from taxes
collected from citizens (Öz, 2008, p.6; Karaaslan, 2014, p.7). Changes have been made in
accounting practices over time so that government accounting can provide reliable, real
information. Especially with the public reform that started in the 1990s, the leading countries
in terms of economy have made the transition from the common state accounting systems and
the cash-based accounting system to the accrual-based accounting system, which provides more
detailed information to users and managers. It is foreseen that the application of the accrual
principle will increase the accountability and transparency of fiscal reports prepared by
governments and their institutions (Martí, 2006, p.45).
It is envisaged that the accounting records will be kept on an accrual basis by showing the public
revenues and expenses in the accounts of the financial year in which they are accrued. On the
other hand, it was decided to keep the records of budget accounts on a cash basis by adopting
the method of accounting for the year in which budget revenues are collected and budget
expenses are paid. Despite the use of accrual basis in accounting, International Public Sector
Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) is not impose in the use of accrual basis in budgeting.
Accrual budgeting is a new development for most governments (Monteiro & Gomes, 2013,
p.104).
The aim of this study is to evaluate accrual-based accounting and budgeting from a theoretical
perspective. Some budgets record government expenditures at the time of payment (on a cash
basis) and some budgets record expenditures at the time of the event take place (accrual basis).
In the study, the positive and negative aspects of switching from cash-based budgeting to
accrual-based budgeting are emphasized by scanning the relevant literature. Proponents of
accrual-based budgeting point to many specific benefits. However, the transition of accruals to
budgeting is still a controversial issue.