Papers by Pamela Stapleton
Private finance: public infrastructure without accountability? The case of privately financed roads in the UK
This study focuses mainly on the financiers in the network of organisations that are involved wit... more This study focuses mainly on the financiers in the network of organisations that are involved with the delivery of projects under the private finance initiative (PFI) in the UK. The study examines the financiers? perceptions of the risks involved in the investment of equity and senior debt in PFI projects.The research strategy is three-fold. Firstly, a literature review identified key themes, from which a questionnaire survey was designed. Secondly, a database of financiers was created and the survey was administered to 109 providers of equity, senior debt and bond finance, from which 43 usable responses were received, and follow-up interviews were carried out with eight respondents. Thirdly, six PFI projects were selected as mini case studies to examine perceptions of risks in the public sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in five sectors - roads, hospitals, schools, prisons and social housing - since risks may differ between sectors. The research posed four questions...
Partnerships and the role of the Big Four accountancy firms: private control over public policy?
This paper shows how the use of private sector advisors to develop and manage the Private Finance... more This paper shows how the use of private sector advisors to develop and manage the Private Finance Initiative and Public Private Partnerships (PFI/PPP) has led to the privatisation of policy formulation. The UK government has brought members of the Big Four accounting firms in on secondment or loan to develop policy and procedures for PFI/PPP, appraise PFI/PPP projects, prepare evaluative reports on the same policies on which they are also advising both public and private sector clients. In some cases, the firms also have an equity stake in the private sector partner and/or are key subcontractors. All this creates a conflict of interests, and raises a number of doubts, firstly about the independence of their work and who benefits from it, but more importantly about who is controlling both national and international government policy on partnership and privatisation, and the implications for democracy.
The impact of hybridity on PPP governance and related accountability mechanisms: the case of UK education PPPs
PurposeContemporary organisational landscapes offer opportunities for hybrids to thrive. Public–p... more PurposeContemporary organisational landscapes offer opportunities for hybrids to thrive. Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are one thriving hybrid form incorporating the use of resources and/or structures from both public and private sectors. The study examines the impact of such a hybrid structure on governance and accountability mechanisms in a context of institutional complexity.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses an approach that draws on institutional logics and hybridity to examine governance arrangements in the PPP policy created for the delivery of UK schools. Unusually, it employs a comparative case study of how four local governments implemented the policy. It draws on a framework developed by Polzer et al. (2017) to examine the level of engagement between multiple logics and hybrid structures and applies this to the delivery of governance and accountability for public money.FindingsThe Polzer et al. framework enables a study of how the nature of hybrids can vary i...
In 2004, 2004
This paper introduces New Essentialism (NE) as a basis for a significant repositioning of account... more This paper introduces New Essentialism (NE) as a basis for a significant repositioning of accounting. Essentialism has a long history and part A of this paper recounts a little of that history and some of the more important criticisms of essentialism in order to more clearly distinguish the new from the old. NE is then definition and, for reasons of authentication, some consideration is given to its significance in critical theory, social and environmental accounting, accounting for sustainable development and other disciplines. In part B of this paper, a NE approach is used to analyse aspects cases involving accounting scandals and the capital market. In part C, the significance of NE analyses are critically discussed and directions for further research are provided. A conclusion is provided.
Australian Journal of Public Administration
The paper examines corporate governance mechanisms which aim to ensure financial accountability i... more The paper examines corporate governance mechanisms which aim to ensure financial accountability in the context of long-term Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts in Britain, and assesses the degree to which they provide taxpayers with control and accountability. The corporate governance arrangements are drawn from the private sector, and therefore downplay the traditional concepts of probity and stewardship, in part due to the British Treasury's adoption of private sector financial reporting. The paper draws on Shaoul et al.'s (2012a) governance-based reporting framework to critique the corporate governance mechanisms of structure, financial reporting, contracts, and scrutiny in relation to British PPP projects. It shows that the way these mechanisms are set up means there is a lack of control by the public sector, thus rendering public accountability ineffective.
The imaginary of the city versus messy realities
Financial Accountability & Management
Public accountability reform in a Nigerian ministry
Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management
Austerity and Hospitals in Deficit: Is PPP Termination the Answer?
Abacus
Outsourcing justice?
Financial Accountability & Management
The role of structure in manipulating PPP accountability
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2017
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the accounting and governance of public private p... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the accounting and governance of public private partnerships (PPPs) that are structured as joint venture partnerships. Drawing on Giddens’ structuration theory, the paper examines how human agents interact with these joint venture structures and analyses the effects on financial disclosures and public accountability for taxpayers’ investments. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a cross-case analysis to investigate two such PPP schemes, which form part of the UK’s programme of investment in primary healthcare, known as the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) policy. The authors employ a combination of interviews and analysis of financial statements and publicly available official documents. Findings The corporate structure of these LIFT schemes is very complicated so that the financial accounting is opaque. The implication is that the joint venture mechanism cannot be relied upon to deliver transparency of reporting. The p...
Accountability and Privatisation: The Role of Intermediaries
2003, 2003
Evaluating the Operation of PFI in Road and Hospital Projects (ACCA Research Report No 84)
2004, 2004
The British Accounting …, 2011
Public private partnerships (PPP) are an established model for most governments internationally t... more Public private partnerships (PPP) are an established model for most governments internationally to provide infrastructure-based services, using private finance. Typically the public authority will sign a contract with a special purpose vehicle (SPV), which, because of the holistic nature of PPP, in turn subcontracts the finance, design, construction, maintenance and soft services to companies that are often related to its shareholders. Thus there is a considerable network of linked organisations that together procure and provide the PPP project. While there is an increasing body of research that examines these PPP projects, much of it is interview or case study based so that the evidence is drawn from a small number of interviews or cases in specific sectors. It also focuses on the public sector procurer and the private sector contractor in the network of organisations. Although it has been recognised that the perceptions of the financiers may vary from those of other key PPP players there is much less research that focuses on the financiers. In this paper we report the results of a postal questionnaire survey, administered to 109 providers of senior debt and equity, from which the response rate was just less than 40%. We supplement these findings with a small number of illustrative quotes from interviewees, where the cited quote represents a commonly held view. We used SPSS and Nvivo to analyse the data. The findings show that when assessing PPPs financiers perceive a very wide range of risks as important, and that it is important to them that many of these risks are either insured or allocated to subcontractors. When considering participating in PPPs, financiers agree that working with familiar partners on familiar projects and in familiar sectors is important, which may raise barriers to entry and undermine competitive processes.
This paper examines empirically the financial outcomes of using private finance in roads under th... more This paper examines empirically the financial outcomes of using private finance in roads under the UK government's Private Finance Initiative (PFI) known as Design Build Finance and Operate (DBFO).
Private control over public policy: financial advisors and the private finance initiative
Policy and Politics 2007 35 479 496, 2007
Accountability for public expenditure under Building Schools for the Future
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 02680939 2010 513744, Nov 1, 2010
This paper examines the disclosure and reporting of expenditure under the UK government&a... more This paper examines the disclosure and reporting of expenditure under the UK government's Building Schools for the Future programme. The study finds that there is little detailed and useful financial reporting, and the public's right to know under Freedom of Information Act 2000 is very limited. The lack of such information makes it difficult to understand where public money is
La contabilización de colaboraciones público-privadas. Utilización de financiación privada en carreteras: una comparación de Reino Unido y España
Empresa Y Sociedad Recurso Electronico Respondiendo Al Cambio Comunicaciones Presentadas 2007 Isbn 978 84 96648 10 4 Pag 115, 2007
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Papers by Pamela Stapleton