Economic Performance and Accrual Accounting Reform : OECD Versus Non-OECD Countries

This paper examines whether economic performance indices of nations signals accrual accounting reform or whether they have random effect. The secondary analysis of accrual accounting data distilled from the report of the PWC global survey of accounting and financial reporting practices of 100 central governments was done using the logistic multiple regression model. Economic performance proxied by gross domestic product per capita positively signaled the likelihood of accrual accounting reform with OECD countries 10 times more likely to implement full accrual accounting than non-OECD countries. Growth rate of gross domestic product and debt as percentages of gross domestic product both negatively signaled the adoption accrual accounting reform while tax revenue as percentage of gross domestic product returned a mixed result. The results suggest that poorer non-OECD countries may be constrained by the cost of implementing accrual accounting reform and may therefore require assistance of multilateral development institutions. This study provides empirical evidence of some of the constraints militating against accrual accounting reform that have been canvassed in the literature