Do Accrual-based Financial Statements Improve Local Public Sector Efficiency? Evidence from Japan

Do Accrual-based Financial Statements Improve Local Public Sector Efficiency? Evidence from Japan | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Do Accrual-based Financial Statements Improve Local Public Sector Efficiency? Evidence from Japan HARUO KONDOH, AKINOBU OGAWA This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3341784/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract After international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) advocated for national governments to adopt accrual accounting, in line with the precepts of New Public Management (NPM), more countries switched from traditional cash-based accounting to accrual accounting methods. NPM aims to enhance budget transparency, efficiency, and accountability of decision-making using business-like management tools such as double-entry bookkeeping. This study examines the impact of the local public accounting reforms on the efficiency of Japanese local governments using a stochastic frontier approach and panel data. Our results indicate that preparing accrual-based financial statements may increase local government efficiency. Financial statements Accrual accounting Efficiency Fiscal transparency New public management (NPM) Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3341784","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":234985794,"identity":"4729de1f-b38f-4e88-8062-e81049f4b77e","order_by":0,"name":"HARUO KONDOH","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACCRBmbLBhYGBGFyagJY10LYdJcJhke+/BGx93nLfnZ+c9+LmAoTaxgf3wAwbLHbi1SPOcS7aceeZ24sxmvmTpGQzHExt40gwYJM/g1iInkWMmzdt2O8HgMI+BNO+/Y4kNDDlAy9sIajlnb3+Yx/g3DwNQC/8b/FqkIVoOMG5g5jGT5mGoSWyQIGCLZM8ZY8uZbcmJMw7zmFnzMBwwbpN4ZnAAn18kjvcY3vjYZmfP33/G+DYPQ51sP3/yw8eSeEIMHRxmYAORkg3Ea6kDk4wfSdAyCkbBKBgFwx4AABG+R/Ogc5GYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Seinan Gakuin University","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"HARUO","middleName":"","lastName":"KONDOH","suffix":""},{"id":234985796,"identity":"55e7b0ea-7cd8-4f40-b270-eea5e8b46f84","order_by":1,"name":"AKINOBU OGAWA","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Niigata University","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"AKINOBU","middleName":"","lastName":"OGAWA","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2023-09-10 09:59:07","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3341784/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3341784/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":50874793,"identity":"cdadf533-8c81-4ab5-a160-c71d0a8f3ecd","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-02-08 18:42:37","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":442297,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"text230911Itax.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3341784/v1_covered_898fe434-c2ee-4107-ac79-547f09e73cdf.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Do Accrual-based Financial Statements Improve Local Public Sector Efficiency? 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