ABSTRACT

This paper explores the United Kingdom’s (UK) attempt to reconcile fiscal reporting logics through its Clear Line of Sight Alignment Project (CLOS). Drawing on archival data, together with semi-structured interviews with representatives involved in the implementation of CLOS, the findings indicate that what started as a means of resolving the tensions between logics, CLOS has exacerbated some existing ones and exposed others. This is largely due to the influence of the professional logic, primarily the UK’s adherence to International Financial Reporting Standards which prevents fiscal reporting being fully aligned. Furthermore, our research illustrates how the UK government has resisted elements of both the professional and national logics to create a system designed to rationalise the fiscal reporting maze. The findings also show that operationally CLOS has (to an extent) aligned the timing, coverage and classification of the fiscal reporting process to present the flow of expenditure from budgeted to approved, to outturn, thereby contributing to the wider agenda of improving the planning, management and control of public expenditure. Given continued calls to align global fiscal reporting practices, this paper informs public policy makers of the (potential) linkages between systems, the obstacles that can be encountered and the incentives for adopting it.

摘要

本文探讨了英国 (UK) 通过其清晰的视线对齐项目 (CLOS) 协调财政报告逻辑的尝试。根据档案数据，以及对参与实施 CLOS 的代表的半结构化访谈，调查结果表明，作为解决逻辑之间紧张关系的一种手段，CLOS 加剧了一些现有的问题并暴露了其他问题。这主要是由于专业逻辑的影响，主要是英国遵守国际财务报告准则，这阻碍了财务报告的完全一致。此外，我们的研究说明了英国政府如何抵制专业和国家逻辑的元素，以创建一个旨在使财政报告迷宫合理化的系统。调查结果还表明，CLOS 在操作上（在一定程度上）调整了财政报告流程的时间、覆盖范围和分类，以呈现从预算到批准的支出流向，从而促进更广泛的议程改进计划，管理和控制公共支出。鉴于不断呼吁调整全球财政报告实践，本文向公共政策制定者通报了系统之间的（潜在）联系、可能遇到的障碍以及采用这种联系的动机。