GIGAR is a network on comparative international governmental accounting research. Hence, the Mission of the CIGAR Network is to promote worldwide discussion and research on comparative governmental accounting. Our main means to realize this mission are the organisation of biennial conferences, biennial workshops dedicated to more specific research themes, and a regularly appearing Newsletter. CIGAR Network stimulates the production of individual and joint papers, preferably in an international comparative perspective, and the publication of books and journal special issues comprising selections of papers presented at our conferences and workshops.
Over the years CIGAR has stimulated debates about international comparative governmental accounting research, but it also hosted presentations and discussions on a broad spectrum of public and not for profit accounting research, including financial reporting, management accounting and auditing. In doing so, CIGAR also has a long-lasting openness to practitioners and standard-setters (e.g. IFAC-PSC, later IPSASB, FEE-PSC, as well as a significant number of individuals in charge of accounting in public institutions or working in the accounting and auditing profession). This is an asset for the development of knowledge.
CIGAR Network was founded by Klaus Lüder (University of Speyer, Germany), Rowan Jones (University of Birmingham, UK) and Jim Chan (University of Illinois at Chicago, USA). Its first conference was organized in 1987 in Chicago. Since then several biennial conferences have been organized. Additionally, quite a few specific topic workshops have been arranged too. CIGAR has produced various edited volumes of conference papers and has also offered material for special issues of journals like Financial Accountability & Management and Public Money & Management. One of our main outcomes has been an international comparative study on the emergence of budgeting and accounting reforms in ten European countries (edited by Lüder and Jones, Reforming governmental accounting and budgeting in Europe, Fachverlag Moderne Wirtschaft, Frankfurt am Main, 2003).
Alongside the recent biennial conferences, starting in 2003, CIGAR has organized PhD seminars in order to stimulate young researchers to present and discuss their work with colleagues and senior researchers.
CIGAR Network (re)started to launch a Newsletter (new series) in 2010; the first one appeared in April 2010. The CIGAR website was modernized in 2010 and currently functions as a communication channel for conferences, workshops and calls for papers on governmental accounting research, as well as discussions and debates on public sector accounting.