Managing Public Finances in the EU more efficiently

Uniform accounting standards for sustainable financial policy, status quo and qualification. Scientists from all over the world will meet in Cottbus and Berlin from 21st to 23rd of September 2022.

Uniform accounting standards are to make the financial policies of EU member states more transparent and sustainable, and tax expenditures more efficient. Scientists and practitioners from all over the world will meet in Cottbus and Berlin from 21st to 23rd September 2022. Source: Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

Berlin, 29 August 2022 - The European Union wants to achieve more transparency for better comparability and control of public tasks and expenditures by introducing uniform accounting standards in all of its member states. The European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS) are to form the basis for economic administrative action and the efficient use of taxpayers' money.

From 21^st to 23^rd of September 2022, researchers from the international network Comparative International Governmental Accounting Research (CIGAR), one of the world's leading associations in the field of public sector accounting research, will meet in Cottbus and Berlin. This year, the professional exchange and the subsequent 3^rd Research Forum of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) are jointly organised by scholars of the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR Berlin) and the HTW University of Applied Sciences for Engineering and Economics (HTW Berlin).

"Only with analogue reliable financial data can undesirable developments be avoided, such as those that led to the European sovereign debt and financial crisis more than ten years ago," says Dr Berit Adam, Professor of Public Management at HWR Berlin, emphasising the importance of EPSAS. In Germany, the state administration uses the traditional accounting system of cameralistics, which only records income and expenditure. EPSAS is based on double-entry bookkeeping and includes assets, finances and income, explains the business economist.

Education and training in public accounting, which is currently facing a multitude of challenges, thus has a special role to play. In addition to topics such as the interaction with budgeting (keyword: double-entry versus cameralistics), the internationalisation of public accounting or digitalisation, sustainability reporting is becoming increasingly important in the public sector.

Debating the fundamental challenge of "Educating for Institutional Change in Public Sector Accounting", a number of workshops will take place and academics from all over the world will present their research results on the issue. The lectures on Friday, 23^rd September 2022, are also relevant for practitioners. Board members of IPSASB and Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, will report on the status quo and current developments in the field of public accounting. Michael Boddenberg, Minister of Finance of the State of Hesse, will report on experiences with the project-related conversion of the documentation of state finances to the international standards according to IPSAS.

The professional public is cordially invited to participate in the workshops and research forum. Registration exclusively for the events on Friday 23^rd September 2022 in Berlin is also possible. The workshop and research forum will be held in English.

Media representatives are most welcome, too. Interviews can be arranged upon request.

Further information, programme and registration

Contact

Prof. Dr. Berit Adam
phone: +49 30 30877-2666
email: berit.adam(at)hwr-berlin.de

Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht (HWR) Berlin
Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht (HWR) Berlin, with its 12,000 students, is one of the largest universities of applied sciences. It has a strong practical and international orientation, undertakes intensive and diverse research and maintains high quality standards. Its degree programme portfolio comprises Business, Administration, Law and Security Management as well as Engineering in 60 degree programmes at Bachelor’s, Master’s and MBA levels. HWR Berlin is the largest provider of cooperative study programmes and cooperates with over 700 companies. It promotes knowledge and technology transfer and supports start-up activities through Startup Incubator Berlin. The university maintains 170 active partnerships with universities on all continents and is a member of “UAS7 – Alliance for Excellence”. HWR Berlin is a leader in the internationalization of business administration degree programmes, occupying top positions in Germany-wide rankings compiled by the CHE, the Centre for Higher Education. A country-wide survey run by DEUTSCHLAND TEST repeatedly confirmed the university as a “TOP Business School” for its advanced training. HWR Berlin supports the initiative of the German Rectors’ conference: “Cosmopolitan Universities - Against Xenophobia".

www.hwr-berlin.de