Country Specific Factors: Public Sector Accounting and Financial Reporting Reforms in Sri Lanka

Abstract

New Public Management led the world of the public sector - including Sri Lanka - to switch on to the accrual-based accounting which is referred to as Public Sector Accounting and Financial Reporting reforms. However, it was noted that most of such reform activities have failed. Besides, irrespective of failure recorded Sri Lanka continues with the reform process. This postures the research problem of what factor(s) forces Sri Lanka to endure the reform. As a result, this study in general attempts to hoist the factors that determine the reform and precisely attempts to elevate the country specific factors of the phenomenon in Sri Lankan context based on qualitative methodology employing semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis method. The study found that though most of the universal and countryspecific factors are negatively influence the reform in Sri Lanka it is compelled to reform since ‘change of country status’ dictates.