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The recognition that public-sector accounting does not merely record decisions but actively structures which choices are thinkable, defensible, and institutionally permissible. By defining what counts as asset or liability, when obligations must be recognised, and over what time horizon costs are visible, accounting frameworks shape the fiscal reality within which governments operate.
A government considering two economically equivalent delivery models will systematically favour the one that defers recognition or shifts obligations off balance sheet, not because of policy preference, but because accounting makes one appear 'responsible' and the other 'fiscally demanding.'
ABS Section 1