Our journey so far

The Public Service Accounting and Accountability Group (PSAAG) was founded in 2011 by a group of scholars who shared a frustration: too often, research on accounting, public management, and administration was taking place in isolation. We wanted to create a space where those conversations could intersect, where public sector accounting could be seen not as a niche but as a lens for addressing the most pressing challenges of governance, policy, and society.

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From our first visible panel at IRSPM in 2012, followed by the inaugural PSAAG workshop at Bocconi University in 2013, the group has grown into one of IRSPM’s most active and diverse communities. Over the years, our workshops (known for their experimental formats, lively debate, and supportive atmosphere) have been hosted in Venice, Glasgow, Siena, Nottingham, Stockholm, Freiburg, Bologna, Coimbra, Utrecht, and Aix-en-Provence, alongside virtual editions during the pandemic. Since 2023, we have alternated our workshops with the EIASM Public Sector Conference, giving members both the structure of a traditional conference and the creativity of a more informal, interactive setting.

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But PSAAG is more than a series of events. It is a crossroads for ideas. Within our community, new research themes have emerged and flourished: governmental resilience, the role and use of accounting information, hybridity, inclusion and participation, and the democratizing potential of accounting. We have challenged the legacy of New Public Management and helped advance debates on what publicness means—across countries, systems, and disciplines. This intellectual contribution is reflected in numerous collaborative projects, special issues, and cross-institutional networks that trace their origins to PSAAG discussions.

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We are also a community of people. From just a handful of founders, PSAAG now connects hundreds of researchers from every region of the world and every stage of academic life. We are especially proud of our commitment to early-career scholars. In 2023, we launched the Irvine Lapsley Public Sector Accounting Research Award to honour both the pioneers of our field and the rising stars shaping its future.

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Looking Ahead

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The challenges facing public service accounting are profound: fiscal austerity, climate change, democratic backsliding, technological disruption, and social fragmentation. Meeting them requires both rigorous research and collective imagination. PSAAG will continue to provide the space where those conversations happen—where critical and curious scholars come together to reimagine how accounting can contribute to more accountable, resilient, and inclusive societies.

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If you share that commitment, welcome—this is your community.