The Palgrave Handbook of Local Government Accounting History

The accounting of local government administrations has received much less attention than other areas in accounting history literature. This handbook is the first devoted entirely to local government accounting history and consolidates existing work in the field globally, while promoting avenues for further research.

Framed from a management accounting and financial reporting perspective, the handbook provides comprehensive coverage of public accounting practices throughout history and how they have shaped the management of public resources and services. Chapters cover a range of topics including audit and budget control, the nature of financial reporting, financial corruption in local government, prosopographical approaches to record-keeping, innovation in public sector accounting, and provision of services and infrastructure, all in comparative and cross-country contexts. The handbook also analyses key stakeholders in local government accounting and discusses ways in which various financing models and budgeting data have been utilised to face challenging economic circumstances. The book draws heavily on archival research, often where administrative bodies pre-dated the nation state, to demonstrate parallels between challenges and solutions in public service financing and provision over time and up to the present day. This book will be essential reading for scholars in accounting and accounting history, as well as those interested in the history of public administration and the public sector more broadly.