Whole of government reporting and network governance

We review the literature on consolidated government accounting reforms from a network governance perspective, examining the ways in which such reforms can represent new forms of accountabilities, as well as the tensions that any reforms can bring. Given the diversity of experiences with consolidated government accounts adopted around the world, there is a risk that too much is expected of such reforms as a way in which to facilitate a shift towards network governance. A major challenge is to get appropriate political buy-in, which is essential if the reform is to achieve necessary alignment of its potentially conflicting goals, such as to improve probity (accountability), enhance policymaking and complement existing forms of accounting (e.g., national statistics).