Följer kommuner Rådet för kommunal redovisnings rekommendationer? : En kvalitativ studie av Norrbottens kommuner

Sammanfattning: At the same time cash-based accounting devolved to principle-based accounting in Sweden, the Council for Municipal Accounting (RKR) was formed which manages the interpretation and development of good accounting practice (Falkman & Tagesson, 2008). The municipalities must follow the recommendations issued by RKR and are obliged by law to explain in the notes in the annual report why they deviate from the recommendations (Falkman & Tagesson, 2008). Annual reports from the municipality are an important part for politicians, residents and other stakeholders. They give a fair picture of the municipality's financial position and operating results (SFS 2018:597). RKR strives towards uniform reporting among Sweden's municipalities through the recommendations, but the implementation and compliance are challenged, which may lead to some municipalities not fully complying with them. The purpose of this essay is to examine the degree of compliance with recommendations in Norrbottens municipalities and based on institutional theory (IT), investigate which underlying mechanisms affect the degree of compliance with recommendations issued by RKR among Norrbottens municipalities. A text analysis of Norrbottens municipalities' annual reports from 2021, followed by four semi- structured interviews with the municipalities' financial managers was done to collect empirical data. The results shows that common patterns can be discerned where normative pressure, mainly through the auditors' pointing out deviations, is perceived to be the greatest pressure affecting the degree of compliance. There is some interaction between normative pressure and coercive pressure, but mimetic pressure appears to be small overall.