Exploring Standard-Setting Process in the Public Realm: Taking a Holistic View

Éditeurs invités

• Marco Bisogno, University of Salerno
• André Carlos Busanelli de Aquino, University of São Paulo
• Carolyn Cordery, Victoria University of Wellington
• Mariafrancesca Sicilia, University of Bergamo

Synthèse

This special issue examines public sector standard-setting as a dynamic process involving multiple phases from design through implementation and revision. Rather than treating standards as isolated objects, the call emphasizes understanding standardization as shaped by interactions among diverse stakeholders—governmental agencies, professional associations, and business firms—engaged in power relations while pursuing influence and legitimacy.

The call seeks scholarly contributions recognizing standardization as both technical and social. Key concerns include how global standard-setters influence public sector practices, the role of transnational harmonization, and understanding approaches adopted by African and Latin American countries. Research should integrate technical, social, and power dimensions throughout the standardization lifecycle, examining digitalization, sustainability reporting, and the translation of international standards to national contexts.

Thèmes proposés

• How is the accounting or auditing standard-setting process organized across jurisdictions and what models are used? For example, is the standards-setter independent of the profession? What is critical for the deliverables of the process, especially in the public sector? Who are the actors populating the arena of sustainability reporting standards for the public sector and why?
• Which are the most pursued objectives of a standard-setting process, and how do authorities justify them? How are the intended public values (if any) connected to standards, and how is a project managed to guarantee public values are delivered?
• Where and how do lobby organizations eventually act? Which type of mechanisms do they use to influence the content of the standard?
• To what extent and with which consequences is standard setting in the public sector affected by accounting choices and approaches developed for the private sector? What risks impact the translation of accounting practices from the private to the public realm? What potential remedies exist?
• Do politicians intervene in public sector accounting regulation or adoption, and why? How does such intervention vary according to the subject? What is the role of professional associations in fostering standards' design and adoption phases, and how do they encourage upskilling?
• What is the interplay between accounting, auditing and/or legal standardization? For instance, does a jurisdictional requirement for cash-based budgetary accounting reduce the use or push for accrual-based accounting? Does a requirement to audit sustainability reporting impact the development of those standards?
• How do standard-setters decide future work plans? What is the role of stakeholders in defining the boundaries of future regulation? Are the drivers for disruptive regulation, such as the regulations on privacy and fake news, different from those in accounting and auditing, for example? Do these different standards impact accounting and audit-related standards?
• How do standard-setters approach digitalization? To what extent are standards contributing to improving the accessibility of digital data stakeholders? How do digitalization processes, new communication channels and innovative approaches regarding forms and types of reporting influence accounting and auditing standard-setting processes?
• How do countries from Africa and Latin America play the different phases of standard processes and which strategies do national authorities use compared to European peers? Which are the implications of such strategies to the standards adoption? How selection, translation and adaptation of standards at the local phase are practices used by local authorities to accommodate power imbalance at the standard design international phase?