The Theoretical and Empirical Research on Governance and Functions of Balance Sheet in the Public Sector

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The functions and roles of balance sheet in the public sector of United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Japan were investigated in terms of governance and management reform. The main findings are :1. United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand have placed accounting and budgeting as a key element of management towardsthe new public management(NPM). The balance sheet works for calculating capital charge based on the net assets in order to comparing the costs fairly and as a measure of period equity and fiscal discipline.2. In the United States and Japan, on the other hand, the objectives of preparing balance sheet lie in enhancing transparency and improving accountability rather than to linking with budgeting and performance management. As a result, performance budgeting and evaluation are separated from financial reporting, especially balance sheet.3. In terms of governance, Japan and United States have focused on accountability in financial management reform keeping the traditional public administration model, while United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand have moved into business management by establishing corporate governance in the public sector.Future research themes are to investigate financial management for the third type governance in which recently has appeared as a network management with government and other actors such as NPO, community, other nations and international organizations.