Debate: If not now, then when? Covid-19 as an accelerator for public sector accrual accounting in Europe

The global Covid-19 crisis, unlike the financial crisis of 2008, is not leading to cutbacks and austerity. Instead, many governments are providing financial support to both individuals and businesses, while assistance is also being given to the banking sector (PwC, 2020). Therefore the academic research on austerity and decline (Bracci et al., 2015), developed with regard to the financial crisis, seems only marginally relevant. However, taking a closer look, it may provide some useful insights to this crisis in relation to the accountability issues that are being raised. These new, extraordinary circumstances require better accountability and, in the same vein, better accounting systems. Under austerity, accruals accounting has been promoted in the name of transparency, rigour and prudent financial management (Bracci et al., 2015), despite considerable criticism raised due to their private sector origins in NPM-inspired reforms.