The creation and acceptance of public sector accounting standards in Canada

Abstract

This study explores the events leading up to the origination of public sector accounting standards in Canada by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and their adoption by the Government of Canada. We interpret these events from the perspective of institutional theory. We find that a long-standing institutionalized practice of self-developed government accounting policies was disrupted by a series of challenges. An influential actor in this process was the Office of the Auditor General of Canada which first pushed for the creation of independent government accounting standards and then pushed the government toward the implementation of the accounting policies developed by the CICA’s public sector accounting standard-setting body. Two CICA studies served to further disrupt the status quo. We also find evidence of the role played by an inter-organization professional network in defining and labeling problems that ultimately resulted in the change.