Chapter 7: Infrastructure Accounting for Local Authorities: Technical Management and Political Context

In recent years, entities throughout the world have been wrestling with the problem of how best to report and account for infrastructure assets. The mounting interest in this subject has been prompted by concern over the deterioration of infrastructure (Choate & Walter, 1981; and Joint Economic Committee, US Congress, 1984) and a shift towards greater use of accrual accounting in the public sector more generally. Researchers in Canada (CICA, 1989), the United States (GASB, 1987 and 1994; and Hughes, 1994), the United Kingdom (Currie, 1987; and CIPFA, 1990), Australia (Rowles, 1991; and PSASB, 1992) and elsewhere (Uüder, 1991) have examined the issue of accounting for assets in the public sector and suggested a variety of reporting methods.