How to Profit From Defence: A Study in the Misapplication of Business Accounting to the Public Sector in Australia

Allan D. Barton

79 citations0/0 files storedFinancial Accountability and Management

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Abstract

The financial statements of the Australian Department of Defence portray it as a highly profitable business which sells defence services to the Government, earns a large profit, pays a substantial dividend and is largely self‐funding. It is argued that the statements seriously misrepresent the financial performance and position of the Department. It is funded from a budget appropriation to provide defence services to the nation, but it is required to report as if it were a commercial business under New Public Management reforms adopted by the Government. But Government accounting systems must be adapted to their unique operating environments if their financial statements are to faithfully represent their financial results.

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References

1954The Pure Theory of Public Expenditure 1995The “new public management” in the 1980s: Variations on a theme 1955Diagrammatic Exposition of a Theory of Public Expenditure 1972Diagrammatic Exposition of a Theory of Public Expenditure 1999Public Finance and Public Choice 1993Government by the Market?1992Elements of a Theoretical Framework for Public Sector Accounting 1999Public and Private Sector Accounting ‐ The Non‐identical Twins

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