Public Sector Accounting: Democratic control of public money by using administrative cameralistics

Our second paper is a further part of the series of articles in which Norvald Monsen has outlined a uniquely public sector approach to accounting and book keeping – cameral accounting. This was developed in German speaking counties and, until now, has remained largely unknown to English readers. Norvald provides an overview of the main tasks of traditional public sector accounting, followed by a detailed exposition of administrative cameralistics, focusing on the closing of the accounts and budgetary comparisons. A commentary section then explains how the four tasks of traditional public sector accounting are taken care of within cameral accounting. This is finally compared with both traditional commercial accounting and the new public sector accounting outlined in the International Public Sector Accounting Standards.

Public Sector Accounting Democratic Control of Public Money by Using Administrative Cameralistics