The informative role of accounting standards in privatising state-owned property: comparing Greek Governmental Accounting Standards and IPSAS

This paper examines the suitability of different accounting bases in providing useful information to support privatisation decisions of state-owned property. More specifically, a comparison is conducted between the recently adopted Greek Governmental Accounting Standards (GGAS) that follow a modified cash basis and accrual-based IPSAS with reference to state-owned property. Within this realm, the study tries to shed light on how accounting could assist governments in better informing their decision-making processes. The findings suggest that even though GGAS seem to be influenced in several cases by IFRS, and therefore present similarities with IPSAS, they do not sufficiently account for information relevant to privatisation decisions under the idiosyncratic circumstances that govern state-owned property in Greece. Nevertheless, although IPSAS appear to be significantly more informative, an information gap is recognised in the case of state-owned assets registration regarding assets that face considerable legal shortcomings that relate to violations or claims by third parties.