The impact of IPSAS adoption on corruption in developing countries

Abstract

This paper investigates whether the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) is a potential enabler or constrainer of corruption in developing countries. We employ the System Generalised Method of Moments on a sample of 77 developing countries between 2005 and 2017. We find that IPSAS is negatively and significantly associated with corruption, suggesting that the adoption of IPSAS helps in controlling corruption in developing countries. The results still hold after accounting for IPSAS experience and the adoption of other international accounting standards. However, in further analyses, we find that negative impact of IPSAS on corruption is more pronounced for countries that have fully adopted the accrual-based IPSAS. This study, therefore, provides evidence to policymakers on why developing countries should adopt IPSAS, especially in the fight against corruption.