22 - 24 June 2026
CIGAR Workshop title:
FINANCIALISATION AND MEAUREMENT IN PUBLIC SECTOR FINANCIAL REPORTING AND MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
The role of the financial industry in the economy of a country is called financialisation. The more involved the role, the higher the extent of financialisation. Financialisation takes the view that everything is done for profit, and decision making is targeted for the benefit private shareholders and other investors. Measurement is key, focusing on financial aspects and lucrative targets.
Financialisation, as a public policy, is the foundation of New Public Management ideology – an ideology that has had various effects on the public sector, both positive and negative. Over more than 40 years’ of implementing the requirements of this ideological approach, public administrations have become leaner and less of a burden on public taxes. However, in financialised economies where financial markets play a major role in the provision and financing of public services, a deterioration in the quality of the public services provided has been noted. Research examples refer to higher education institutions (such as in the UK, the US and Australia – Hale, 2018; Eaton et al, 2016; Guthrie and Lucas, 2022) and social housing (Moosa, 2023).
Experience reveals the difficulty of applying the one-dimensional measures of financialisation to processes that have other facets besides the financial one, and include the social and political dimensions, such as in the public sector. Various public sector accounting literature has criticised measurement methods with such a limited view to be inadequate in a public sector context (see for example, Ellwood and Newberry, 2006; Heald and Georgiou, 2011; Ellwood and Greenwood, 2016; Hodges, 2016; Caruana et al., 2023).
Experience has also shown that financialisation as a public policy is only suitable during fine weather. In times of crises, such as during the pandemic, the role of the financial industry in the economy diminishes, and governments are expected to take the helm and steer the economy through troubled waters. This expectation emphasises the important role of management accounting and financial reporting for public administrations, especially during turbulent times (Dabbicco et al., 2022).
The Workshop organisers invite both quantitative and qualitative research, from academics and practitioners.
Topics suitable for the CIGAR Workshop include but are not limited to:
Publication opportunities: A special issue on the theme of the Workshop shall be sought with scientific journals, for example, PMM and JBAFM.
The University of Malta is not a new venue for CIGAR events because the 15th Biennial Conference was held in Malta in June 2015. The University of Malta is the highest teaching institution in the country, publicly funded and open to all those who have the requisite qualifications. Over the past few years, the University has reviewed its structures in order to be in line with the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area. The main campus is situated at Msida. There are two other campuses: the Valletta Campus and the Gozo Campus, the latter situated in Malta’s sister-island. The University presently has fourteen faculties as well as a number of interdisciplinary institutes and centres in various fields.
A dedicated website shall be available soon and you shall be informed accordingly.
Abstract guidelines:
Abstracts should be up to 800 words long and not less than 500 words. They should include:
All abstracts will undergo a double-blind review process.
Full Paper Guidelines:
The full paper must consist of 20 pages maximum, including notes, diagrams, tables and bibliography. Either complete works or research in progress are accepted as long as the aims of the research, the methodology, and the actual or expected results are clearly shown. The papers accepted to be presented at the conference will be available to be accessed by the Workshop participants unless the authors do not consent to this option.
Submissions of abstracts and full papers are to be sent to cigarworkshop2026@um.edu.mt .
Key dates:
PhD students, working in the area of public sector accounting, auditing and accountability, can submit their PhD projects/papers (max 20 pages in total) by April 30th, 2026 directly to the CIGAR PhD Colloquium Chairs: Pawan Adhikari and Giuseppe Grossi.
Participants for the PhD Colloquium and Workshop shall have the opportunity to present their paper online. The PhD Colloquium can be hybrid. Only one parallel session during the Workshop will be hybrid. Reduced rates shall apply.
For queries please contact Josette Caruana or Lucienne Bugeja .
References:
Caruana, J., Bisogno, M. and Sicilia, M.F. (2023) Exploring the Measurement Dilemma in Public Sector Financial Reporting, in. J. Caruana, M. Bisogno and M.F. Sicilia (Eds.) Measurement in Public Sector Financial Reporting: Theoretical Basis and Empirical Evidence, Emerald, UK (pp.3-18)
Dabbicco, G., Bisogno, M., Caruana, J. and Christiaens, J. (2022) The contribution of public sector accounting and public financial management during and after times of crisis, in G. Dabbicco, M. Bisogno, J. Caruana and J. Christiaens (Eds.) Public Sector Accounting, Financial Accountability and Viability in Times of Crisis, Palgrave Macmillan, UK (pp.1-13)
Eaton, C., Habinek, J., Goldstein, A., Dioun, C., Godoy, DGS, and Osley-Thomas, R. (2016) The Financialization of US higher Education, Socio-Economic Review, 14, 507-35.
Ellwood, S. and Greenwood, M. (2016). Accounting for heritage assets: Does measuring economic value ‘kill the cat’? Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 38, 1-13.
Ellwood, S. and Newberry, S. (2006). A bridge too far: a common conceptual framework for commercial and public benefit entities. Accounting and Business Research, 36, 1, pp19-32.
Guthrie, J. and Lucas, A. (2022) It’s Time for a Royal Commission into the Governance of Australia’s Public Universities, Pearls and Irritations, 3 August.
Hale, T. (2018) The Great Balance Sheet Shift of British Universities, Financial Times, 3 July.
Heald, D. and Georgiou, G. (2011) The substance of accounting for Public-Private Partnerships. Financial Accountability and Management, 27(2), pp. 217-247.
Hodges, R. (2016). New development: the conundrum of fair value measurement –evidence from the UK FRAB, Public Money & Management, 36, 3, 227-230.
Moosa, A. (2023) Financialisation – Measurement, Driving Forces and Consequences. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.
