From Compliance-Based to Collaborative Financial Governance: A Bibliometric-Systematic Review of Multi-Actor Accountability in Public Financial Management

Abstract

Background Public financial management has increasingly moved beyond a narrow compliance-oriented perspective toward broader governance arrangements involving transparency, oversight, participation, digitalization, and multiple accountability actors. This study maps the development of research on public financial management and formulates a conceptual agenda for collaborative financial governance. Methods A bibliometric-systematic literature review was conducted using Scopus-indexed journal articles published in English between 2022 and 2026. After database filtering and eligibility screening, 265 articles were retained for bibliometric performance analysis and science mapping using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer. A second-stage screening identified 39 studies with direct thematic relevance for the systematic review and in-depth full-text thematic synthesis. Results Publication output increased markedly after 2023 and peaked in 2025. Fiscal transparency, local government, accountability, budget transparency, audit, oversight, participation, public spending, and digital openness emerged as dominant and interconnected themes. The systematic synthesis indicates a shift from primarily compliance-based approaches toward broader multi-actor accountability and identifies six recurring governance domains: compliance, audit, transparency, participation, digitalization, and accountability. Conclusions Collaborative financial governance is conceptualized as an integrated governance architecture in which these six domains operate as complementary mechanisms. The framework extends conventional public financial management by linking institutional control, fiscal openness, stakeholder involvement, digital support, and accountability to strengthen the legitimacy, responsiveness, and effectiveness of public resource management.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. F1000Research, 2026 · DOI ↗