2012 Volume 20 Issue 2 Pages 141-162
This paper explores a new perspective on management accounting research in the public sector by examining performance budgeting practice in the Japanese government. Performance budgeting is not an established management tool but a mix of various design approach. Types of performance information, account structure of budget expenditure, and budgeting process can be identified as design variables for performance budgeting. This paper considers the way in which the design variables had been incorporated into the budgeting system by investigating the 10-year construction process of performance budgeting in the Japanese government. The process forms two patterns: increasing the number of parties which involves the budgeting process and expanding the extent of politicians’ involvement. These patterns demonstrate the potential for interaction between the budgeting reform and Japanese democracy.
