Mapping Global Evidence on International Public Sector Accounting Standards Adoption in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review and Evidence Gap Map

International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) are the global benchmark for public sector financial reporting. However, the evidence base regarding their adoption and implementation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remains geographically and thematically uneven. This study presents a scoping review and evidence gap map (EGM) following PRISMA-ScR guidelines to synthesize global IPSAS research. Using automated search protocols across nine databases (2010–2026), 120 high-impact studies were selected through a relevance-citation scoring algorithm. The synthesis across seven thematic domains reveals strong evidence linking IPSAS adoption to improved governance quality, enhanced fiscal transparency, and reduced corruption globally. Nevertheless, substantive implementation is systematically obstructed by multidimensional barriers, predominantly human capacity deficits, technological incompatibility, and legal misalignments. Furthermore, the EGM identifies profound structural inequities in the literature, exposing severe evidentiary gaps in Francophone Africa, Lusophone Africa, and Latin America. While IPSAS delivers measurable accountability dividends, these benefits only materialize under integrated enabling conditions. Escaping the trap of ceremonial compliance demands coordinated, multi-front public financial management reform strategies and a fundamental rebalancing of global research investment toward under-represented regions to inform context-specific policy.