The interplay between technology and politics : a case study analysis of financial reporting practices in Winchester, Massachusetts

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the interplay between technology and politics by analyzing how recent revisions in the governmental financial reporting model - promulgated in Governmental Accounting Standards Board, Statement 34 - are translated into practice at the local governmental level. The recent reduction in cost and subsequent proliferation of desktop database and mapping technologies has the potential to provide users of governmental financial statements with new ways of watching over entities entrusted with public resources. Similarly, these same "asset management system" technologies offer local governments an invaluable internal decision-support tool for optimizing future planning decisions. However, as evidenced in the Town of Winchester, Massachusetts, the realization of this enhanced monitoring and planning potential extends beyond the realm of information technology concerns. Indeed, (1) without a long-term governmental accounting focus, (2) without the internal governmental capacity to effectively deploy and maintain information technology-driven asset management tools, and (3) without an understanding of the political logic that drives information technology implementation and public disclosure decisions in the local government context, the types and detail of information included in governmental financial statements may continue to lag behind the demands of financial statement users.