PRIVATIZATION OF STATE-OWNED ASSETS THROUGH THE LENS OF ACCOUNTING: COMPARING GREEK GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AND INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING STANDARDS

The present paper examines the accounting principles relevant to the privatization of state-owned property through the sale and lease of assets under the Greek governmental accounting standards and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). More specifically we explore the accounting information quality and availability as well as the accounting methods and practices that are adopted in order for an asset's value to be reliably presented before entering in the privatization process. The comparison analysis reveals crucial differences between the two accounting frameworks in terms of asset recognition and valuation. More specifically, the Greek governmental accounting standards appear to present limited information in the cases of asset registration, measurement after recognition, determination of depreciation charges and assessment of impairment losses, which in turn, significantly affect the quality of the information regarding assets' condition. Even though, the newly Greek governmental accounting system seems to be influenced by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and differs, in several cases, from the Greek Accounting Standards for the private sector is does not sufficiently account for information relevant to privatization decisions. The study explores a very timely issue, that of state-owned property privatization, which is of high interest not only for the Greek government, but also for other countries, which mainly due to the global debt crisis are currently in the process of privatizing state-owned property. We try to shed light on how accounting could assist governments in better informing their decision-making processes.