In an age where governments are introducing rules to make corporations more accountable, it's extraordinary that government bureaucrats won't play by the same rules.

It's an issue being discussed around the world, and everywhere it's the same story: one set of accounting standards for business, and a completely different set for government.

This is why the US Government deficit would be many times larger if it employed the kind of accounting that applies to business, according to a USA Today report.

Another example is the accounting problem confronting the Pentagon which has shown itself to be absolutely useless when it comes to tracking the numbers.

In Australia, accountants and bureaucrats are discussing changing the rules to make the public sector more accountable by bringing it more into line with the kind of accounting rules that apply to business.

You can read a piece I wrote about it here.

If the change goes through, it will be put to the international accounting standards setters, and that could have global implications and force governments around the world to adopt new standards to make the public sector more transparent.

In the end, it's all about accountability. Taxpayers are entitled to nothing less.