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The activity of the public sector has become so extensive and so dominant in economic and social life that good accounting has become a necessity for its continuance. Current and future accountants need to be properly trained to support good financial management in the dynamic and complex environment of the public sector. However, previous studies have shown that student interest in the public sector accounting profession is limited and that a career in public accounting is not attractive to them compared to the private sector. Due to the numerous reform processes in the public sector and the expansion of the global market, now is the right time to look for competent accountants in public institutions. Students as future accountants play a crucial role in the implementation of reforms. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate whether students are interested in becoming accountants in the public sector. It also aims to investigate how students perceive the attractiveness of the public sector accounting profession compared to the private sector accounting profession. The study was conducted through a survey of students at public universities of the Faculty of Economics in Croatia. The study revealed that only a small percentage of students have the desire to work in the public sector. Moreover, the position of an accountant in the public sector is less attractive than that of an accountant in the private sector in terms of realization of monetary and non- monetary benefits. The results indicate a need to consider who will work in public accounting in the future and who will implement the necessary reforms. Our study contributes to the academic literature on students' perceptions of the attractiveness of public sector accounting as a career. In addition, the results of the study may also be of interest to practitioners to encourage them to think about what can be changed to increase the attractiveness of the public sector accounting profession.

Svrha je financijskih izvještaja proračuna i proračunskih korisnika pružiti pravovremene informacije o financijskom položaju i financijskoj uspješnosti te novčanim tijekovima. Stoga su financijski izvještaji ključni prilikom poboljšanja odgovornosti i donošenja odluka javnih menadžera. Budući da kvaliteta informacija prezentiranih u financijskim izvještajima ovisi o računovodstvenoj osnovi, a financijski izvještaji pripremljeni na obračunskoj osnovi pružaju najkvalitetnije i najpotpunije informacije, cilj je ovoga rada utvrditi jesu li financijski izvještaji pripremljeni na modificiranoj obračunskoj osnovi korisni u procesu donošenja odluka iz dviju perspektiva: perspektive javnih menadžera te perspektive računovođa u javnom sektoru Republike Hrvatske, koji sudjeluju u procesu pripreme propisanih financijskih izvještaja. Pored financijskih izvještaja, proračunski korisnici pripremaju i izvještaje o izvršenju proračuna te često postoji nesklad između propisanih izvještaja zbog primjene različite računovodstvene osnove. U brojnim zemljama prisutan je dvojni sustav izvještavanja te su provedena istraživanja u tim zemljama ukazala na činjenicu da se preferira korištenje izvještajima o izvršenju proračuna prilikom donošenja odluka. Nadalje, svrha je rada utvrditi preferiraju li javni menadžeri korištenje izvještajima o izvršenju proračuna više nego propisanim financijskim izvještajima. Također, uzimajući u obzir da su prethodno provedena istraživanja ukazala na činjenicu da postoji razlika u korištenju i korisnosti izvještaja javnoga sektora, istraživanjem će se utvrditi je li percepcija korisnosti propisanih izvještaja veća od korištenja. Istraživanje je provedeno metodom ankete na uzorku javnih menadžera i računovođa u javnom sektoru u Republici Hrvatskoj. Utvrđeno je da financijski izvještaji ne zadovoljavaju u potpunosti potrebe javnih menadžera te se reforme u računovodstvu javnog sektora u Republici Hrvatskoj očekuju u bliskoj budućnosti., The purpose of the financial reports of public sector entities is to provide information about financial position and financial performance as well as cash flows. Therefore, financial reports are crucial when improving the accountability and decision-making of public managers. Given that the quality of information presented in financial reports depends on the accounting basis, and financial reports prepared on an accrual accounting basis provide the highest quality and most complete information, the goal of this paper is to determine whether financial reports prepared under modified accrual basis are useful in the decision-making process from two perspectives: the perspectives of public managers and the perspectives of accountants in the public sector of the Republic of Croatia, who participate in the process of preparing prescribed financial reports. Besides financial reports, public sector entities also prepare budget execution reports, and there is often a discrepancy between the prescribed reports due to the application of different accounting bases. In many countries, there is a dual reporting system, and the research conducted in these countries indicated the fact that budget execution reports are more preferred in the decision-making process. Furthermore, the purpose of the paper is to determine whether public managers prefer to use budget execution reports rather than prescribed financial reports. Also, considering that previously conducted research pointed to the fact that there is a difference in the use and usefulness of prescribed reports of public sector entities, the research will determine whether the perception of the usefulness of prescribed reports is greater than use. The research was conducted using a survey method on a sample of managers and accountants in the public sector in the Republic of Croatia. The research determined that financial reports do not fully meet the needs of public managers, and reforms in public sector accounting in the Republic of Croatia are expected in the near future.

The need for more efficient public management as well as possibility of comparing performance results between EU members is constantly growing up. Aforementioned implicate the improvement of financial disclosures of public sector entities. Therefore, there is a need for harmonized reporting among EU Member State. The focus is also put on the development of European Public Sector Accounting Standards based on accrual. Mentioned requirements have great impact on the public sector accountants because they are responsible for financial reporting to external stakeholders and preparation of information for decision making process. Some of important preconditions, to answer on mentioned requirements as well as to enable the successful implementation of public sector reforms, are accounting education and training of public sector accountants. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to research knowledge and education of accountants in the area of public sector accounting in Croatia in the context of growing requirements for information needed for efficient public management. Research in this paper was conducted using a questionnaire emailed to public sector accountants in Croatia. In order to analyse the results descriptive statistics was used. The preliminary results show that formal education is not enough for position of public sector accountant because of insufficient specific knowledge from the field of public sector accounting and changes as well as amendments to university programs and lifelong learning are required.

Potreba za transparentnim i usporedivim informacijama na razini država članica Europske Unije stvorila je potrebu za razvoj harmoniziranog sustava financijskog izvještavanja te se od 2011. aktivno radi na razvoju Europskih računovodstvenih standarda za javni sektor – EPSAS-a. Pojava pandemije COVID-19 dodatno je naglasila potrebu za pravovremenim, transparentnim i usporedivim informacijama. U nastavku ovog rada prezentiran je razvoj financijskog izvještavanja u zemljama Europske Unije. Pored toga, prezentirane su aktivnosti na razvoju EPSAS-a od 2020. do 2021. godine kao i utjecaj pandemije COVID-19 na pitanja razvoja EPSAS-a ali i izvještavanja država i njenih subjekata.

Financial reporting of public sector entities has been in in a constant process of reform due to the growing and changing requirements of information users. Therefore, this paper investigates the perception of accountants about adequacy of financial reporting system of public sector entities in Croatia and the need for additional forms of reporting for different groups of information users. We have developed two goals of the paper as follows: to analyse the legislative context of financial reporting and the possibility of conducting reforms and applying international standards ; to research the perception of accountants on the adequacy of financial reports based on the modified accrual base for different categories of information users and the need for additional reports. The results of the research, which were obtained through empirical research conducted in 2022 in Croatia, showed that accountants believe that the current financial reporting system is not entirely appropriate. However, they did not express an overly positive attitude towards reforms and changes in the financial reporting of public sector entities, as well as the need for additional forms of reporting.

Sustav računovodstva kao važan element reforme javnog sektora u postupnom je i dugotrajnom procesu razvoja prema punoj primjeni obračunske osnove. Istraživanja i prognoze relevantnih međunarodnih institucija pokazuju da se ovaj proces sve više intenzivira, između ostaloga i kao posljedice globalnih kriza i neizvjesnosti. Na toj osnovi, kvaliteta financijskog izvještavanja podiže se na visoku razinu jer izvještaji uključuju sve resurse, obveze i izvore financiranja i, kao takvi, postaju transparentniji i korisniji za upravljanje u kriznim okolnostima, ali i za ocjenu ekonomske uspješnosti javnog menadžmenta. Kako financijski izvještaji, primarno usmjereni na financijske informacije, ne zadovoljavaju sve informacijske potrebe svih korisnika, u posljednje vrijeme raste i interes za nefinancijsko izvještavanje i koncept prezentiranja nefinancijskih informacija uz financijske izvještaje. To je dovelo do razvoja integriranog izvještavanja u javnom sektoru. Iako je nefinancijsko izvještavanje relativno nova tema u javnom sektoru, moguće je zaključiti da bi integrirano izvještavanje moglo riješiti nedostatak transparentnosti u javnom sektoru te će zasigurno pojedine zemlje i jedinice javnog sektora u budućnosti prihvatiti integrirano izvještavanje kao alternativu tradicionalnom izvještavanju javnog sektora. Rad daje osvrt na sustav financijskog izvještavanja jedinica javnog sektora u Europskoj Uniji s naglaskom na zemlje Jugoistočne Europe i ukazuje na izazove s kojima će se susresti zemlje u procesu provedbe reformi u sustavu financijskog i nefinancijskog izvještavanja jedinica javnog sektora.

In the last decade many countries implemented reforms in public sector accounting i.e. many countries went through process of transition from cash accounting basis to accrual basis. The reason for implementation of accrual accounting basis is fact that just financial statements prepared on accrual basis are important for efficient decision making because provide relevant, comprehensive, reliable, comparable and transparent information on public finance. The mentioned posed an incentive for researching the situation in countries of South-Eastern Europe during their period of transitioning to liberal democracy. This paper focuses on a selected number of SEE countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina as two entities, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia), characterized by different accounting and reporting systems and different approaches, as well as the dynamics and results from reforms in accounting and financial reporting. Of the selected countries, four are EU member states while another five are currently negotiating accession. EU Member States should use a common approach to accounting and financial reporting, whereas countries currently negotiating accession do not have that obligation. However, the incentive is to utilize the best EU practices to fulfil criteria set for EU membership and further development of public sector accounting in these countries should be viewed in the context of existing membership or preparation for the EU membership, based on Council Directive 2011/85/EU of 8 November 2011 on requirements for budgetary frameworks of the Member States and ongoing harmonization of public sector accounting in EU Member States. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present research on accounting and financial reporting in the selected SEE countries as well as the potential implementation of IPSAS/EPSAS in the future. Public sector accounting in selected countries has been investigated researching legal and institutional framework. The system of financial reporting and the level of its standardization have been studied as well as public availability and transparency of reporting. In investigating the existence of accounting reforms, the authors of this paper wanted to highlight if existing reforms are directed to applying the accrual basis or IPSAS/EPSAS implementation. The presented research results show that all countries have a prescribed budget and accounting framework, unified budget classification and chart of accounts. The present level of implementing the accrual basis in all selected countries is relatively low. Budget processes predominantly adopt the cash or modified cash basis, whereas financial reporting uses modified forms of cash basis or modified forms of accrual basis. Although there are incentives in the selected countries for future use of the accrual basis as well as implementing IPSAS/EPSAS, many activities should be carried out prior to any practical implementation of the accrual basis.

Poduzeća sastavljaju, strukturiraju i prezentiraju financijske izvještaje sukladno Međunarodnom računovodstvenom standardu 1, Prezentiranje financijskih izvještaja. Cilj MRS-a 1 je prikazati financijske izvještaje svih poduzeća na jednak način kako bi se financijski izvještaji različitih poduzeća mogli međusobno uspoređivati. MRS 1 određuje koje izvještaje poduzeća trebaju sastavljati a to su izvještaj o financijskom položaju, izvještaj o dobiti ili gubitku te ostaloj sveobuhvatnoj dobiti, izvještaj o novčanim tijekovima, izvještaj o promjenama kapitala, bilješke te izvještaj o financijskom položaju na početku najranijeg usporednog razdoblja ako subjekt retroaktivno primjenjuje računovodstvenu politiku ili reklasificira stavke u izvještajima. MRS 1 propisuje minimalan sadržaj i strukturu izvještaja. Međutim, EFRAG smatra da poduzeća ne bi trebala sastavljati i strukturirati financijske izvještaje na jednak način već ovisno o predmetu poslovanja. Stoga je EFRAG identificirao četiri poslovna modela. EFRAG preporuča sastavljanje financijskih izvještaja s obzirom na poslovni model poduzeća. Međutim, utvrđeno je kako poduzeća bez obzira na poslovnu djelatnost prezentiraju financijske izvještaje prema MRS 1 koji je namijenjen proizvođačkim poduzećima, dok EFRAG preporuča da se u izvještaju o dobit ili gubitku priznaju prihodi i rashodi od osnovnih aktivnosti koje stvaraju novčane tijekove.