Strengthening the fight: is the adoption of IPSAS helping Latin America tackling corruption?

PurposeThis paper examines the relationship between the adoption of accrual-based IPSAS and the level of perceived corruption of Latin-American countries, considering the moderating effect of the country's institutional quality.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a longitudinal analysis of 19 countries, between 2010 and 2020, following a quantitative approach by using multiple linear regression with panel data.FindingsMain findings indicate that the harmonization of public sector accounting through the adoption of IPSAS generates a positive effect on the corruption level in Latin-American countries, causing a reduction in their indexes of perception of corruption. The countries' institutional context, as hypothesized, increases such effect, making it even more significant in the cases of partial adoption.Practical implicationsTo improve accountability and decision-making in public sector entities overall, contributing to reduce corruption, IPSAS adoption requires an institutional environment favorable to take the best of their benefits.Social implicationsThe adoption of IPSAS in an environment with a high institutional quality, allows a greater effect in reducing corruption in the jurisdiction.Originality/valueThis study contributes by providing a comprehensive view of IPSAS and its impact on perceived corruption levels, expanding the existing research to Latin America, where corruption is generally high and IPSAS may contribute to reduce it. It makes an important addition by defining and considering an index of the country's institutional quality, providing evidence that when this is high, the context enhances the work of institutions, including IPSAS, to fight corruption.