How Accounting Can Save Democracy

The problems that we have identified in current government financial management frameworks pose considerable challenges to democratic governments. These take several forms: the danger of government financial collapse; problems with financial transparency and accountability; problems with ensuring intergenerational fairness. By adopting proper accounting standards and systems, and placing these at the heart of their financial management frameworks, governments can address these issues. The consequences are profound, not just for public finances, but for the stability of democratic systems of government and for how they meet the ideals to which they aspire.