Standardizing accounting systems. Boundary conditions for European reforms

This study follows the ongoing literature on accounting harmonization in the public sector and discusses the unintended consequences of public government accounting reforms. In particular, the research aims to investigate whether the accounting tools introduced by Italian regulations actually help achieve the reform’s aims or if they paradoxically end up causing unexpected coordination problems. The paper explores the reasons behind the identified issues, while also highlighting its contribution to the ongoing debate and its implications for practice. The research was conducted through an in-depth case study. The general concept of “coordination” and its operationalization was first addressed. With this lens, Italian reform and its implementation were analyzed, retrieving data from official documents and interviews with selected experts. The results of the case study were then generalized to discuss the issue of accounting coordination at a wider level. We found that since 2009 the Italian reform package has not been fully implemented across all levels of government. Where it has been applied, various coordination issues have emerged - some have been addressed through redundant practices, while others have resulted in unresolved gaps. Major coordination challenges remain, particularly when examining issues across different levels of government. This can be attributed to the Rechtsstaat context and the overlap of objectives between “National Accounting” and “Governmental Accounting” within the reform framework. This study demonstrates that the coordination of accounting policies can fail when an overall and shared design of reform objectives and devices is lacking, particularly if governments intend to achieve them through binding regulations. Given these circumstances, it’s desirable for reforms to follow certain key guidelines. We identify these as the principles of “complementarity” and “concordance”, which serve as essential boundaries to ensure effective implementation of the accounting reforms.