Diffusion, modification and sedimentation of institutional elements in government accounting change : Finland in a comparative perspective during three decades since 1980

The purpose of this paper is to examine conceptual changes of government accounting in Finland in 1980–2009 with certain comparisons to the UK, Italy and Austria. The analysis applies ‘public administration’, ‘new public management’ (NPM) and ‘public governance’ as ‘umbrella concepts’ for examining government accounting. The results indicate Finland as a vigorous reformer although more reluctant to explain its reforms in NPM terms than the comparison countries. The ultimate conclusions of the paper outline for the examination of government accounting for the better acknowledgement of the political and ideological aspects of its conceptual changes.The purpose of this article is to examine conceptual changes of government accounting in Finland in 1980–2009 with comparisons to the UK, Italy and Austria. The analysis applies ‘public administration’, ‘new public management’ (NPM) and ‘public governance’ as ‘umbrella concepts’ for examining government accounting. The results indicate Finland as a vigorous reformer but more reluctant to explain its reforms in NPM terms than the comparison countries. The conclusions of the paper outline examination of government accounting for the better acknowledgement of the political and ideological aspects of its conceptual changes.Peer reviewe