Accountability through Accrual: Practitioner Evidence on International Public Sector Accounting Standards Implementation and Public Financial Management Reforms in Ghana

The adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) is a central component of Public Financial Management (PFM) reform agendas across sub-Saharan Africa. While Ghana has invested significantly in PFM infrastructure, empirical evidence on practitioner-level implementation experiences remains limited. This study examines the awareness, perceived benefits, implementation challenges, and long-term outlook of IPSAS adoption among public sector practitioners in Ghana. A structured online questionnaire was administered to a nationwide sample of 400 professionals across five organisation types, including central ministries, audit institutions, local governments, regulatory bodies, and public corporations. Quantitative data were analysed using Python v3.12 with pandas, NumPy, scipy, seaborn, and matplotlib libraries. Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation were computed for all survey items. Results indicate strong awareness of IPSAS (mean = 4.24) and near-universal endorsement of PFM reform necessity (mean = 4.70). Approximately 72.5% of respondents reported full or partial IPSAS implementation within their organisations. Key perceived benefits include enhanced financial statement comparability (mean = 4.52) and reliability (mean = 4.28). However, significant systemic barriers persist, notably capacity and training deficits (mean = 4.00), financial system incompatibility (mean = 3.56), and legal misalignment (mean = 3.51). ANOVA revealed no statistically significant differences in perceptions across organisation types (p > 0.10), suggesting a broad professional consensus. The findings suggest that Ghanaian practitioners hold highly favourable views toward IPSAS, with implementation gaps driven by structural and systemic constraints rather than individual resistance. These results carry important implications for policymakers and international development partners seeking to accelerate the transition to accrual-basis accounting in low- and middle-income country contexts. JEL Classification: H83, M41, M48, O55, O19