Setting International Public-Sector Accounting Standards: Does ‘Public’ Matter? The Case of Revenue from Non-Exchange Transactions

Abstract This paper investigates accounting for non-exchange revenue, an issue which has a strong relevance in public sector accounting, but which is rarely encountered in the private sector. The IPSASB consultation paper ‘Accounting for Revenue and Non-exchange Expenses’ is analyzed to illustrate that the specificities of the public sector are not necessarily taken into account when developing public sector accounting standards. Our analysis is informed by literature on the political nature of accrual accounting in public sector entities. The paper highlights the territorializing role of the IPSASB, the mediating role attributable to the consultation paper, and the potential adjudicating and subjectivizing roles of a future public sector accounting standard on revenue recognition.