New development: Rethinking public sector accounting systems by rediscovering their relational nature

Accounting systems have been traditionally seen as technical calculative practices to quantify public sector activities, used by governments for (internal) decision-making purposes and to be externally accountable. This article suggests taking a different perspective by considering the relational nature of accounting systems, with the idea that a more interactive approach between citizens and governments can enhance both decision-making and accountability. By relying on a more dialogic approach, policy-makers and public managers at all levels of government can encourage citizens to participate in public service performance measurement, so that citizens can comment on what counts, how to measure it, and how to account for it. Doing this will reinvigorate government legitimacy, increase mutual trust between citizens and the public sector, and pursue public values that citizens actually want.Public sector accounting systems have been criticised for being 'monological' tools, narrowly focusing on efficiency and financial values while disregarding the plurality of public values, and suffering from limited use, relevance, transparency, and involvement of citizens. This article offers a new perspective by highlighting not only the technical but also the relational nature of accounting systems where citizens and governments interact in deciding what counts, measuring it, and accounting for it. It calls for future research exploring the potential of interactive forms of accounting systems, both government- and citizen-initiated.