The move from cash to accruals accounting by many governments is viewed as an aspect of
an ongoing New Public Management agenda designed to achieve a more business-like and
performance-focused public sector. Proponents argue that accruals accounting provides
more appropriate information for decision makers and ultimately leads to a more efficient
and effective public sector. The transition from cash to accruals accounting for UK central
government departments was announced in the early 1990s and was embedded within
approximately ten years. At that time there were clear indications that analogous changes,
following a similar timeline, would occur in the Republic of Ireland (RoI). In reality, the
changes were significantly less extensive. Utilising document analysis and interviews with
key actors, this paper considers why a functioning accruals system was established in the
UK whereas in the RoI the change to accruals accounting was a ‘road not taken’.