The annual reporting practices of an Australian Commonwealth Government department: An instance of deinstitutionalisation

This research utilises institutional theory for the purpose of providing a critical explanation as to why the annual reports of an Australian Commonwealth Government changed between the years 1942 and 1998. The analysis of the annual reports revealed that reporting practices were stubbornly consistent for over 40years. During the 1980s, however, institutionalised practices were replaced with a suite of new reporting techniques which themselves came to be institutionalised in the 1990s. The changes which took place were seen to result from pressures to conform to the `New Public Management¿ agenda, but the quality of the annual reports as concise discharges of accountability suffered as a consequence.