Did the New Zealand government's move to accrual accounting meet expectations?

Abstract

Our article is a historical, narrative account of the context of, the expectations for, and the process of implementation of the New Zealand Government's adoption of accrual-based whole-of-government financial reporting. It also documents the results as they were assessed in contemporaneous official and quasi-official studies that the prior expectations were met in relation to expectations for impact on fiscal performance and position, transparency, and sustainability. Our article also supports the conclusion that expectations were met in relation to certain aspects of departmental performance, though this was not universally the case for departmental efficiency.