Accrual accounting reform and public finance

Eagle Zhang

Chapter 3 in Handbook of Public Finance in China, 2026, pp 50-66 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: China's recent decision to develop an accrual-based whole-of-government financial accounting system represents a radical regulatory change in China's public financial management. This chapter examines the antecedent intellectual debates and public discourses articulated in China to reveal the general features of the Chinese government accounting. It traces the major economic changes during the reform era and the associated institutional forces that have affected the government accounting reform in China. Echoing the Western narratives of new public management and neoliberal rationales, this chapter reveals a close link between the major conceptual elements of government accounting articulated in the public discourses and China's unique socio-political context of ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’. The analysis shows a blend of Western notions and the PRC's unique political tradition in the Chinese government accounting system and discusses its impacts for public finance.

Keywords: Chinese government accounting reform; New public management; Neoliberalism; Socialism with Chinese characteristics; Public sector accounting; Accrual accounting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035311705
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