Fixed Asset Maintenance Budgeting in a State-Owned Logistics Enterprise: A Political Economy Accounting Perspective

Dusty Widha Hutama; Driana Leniwati

doi:10.62794/je3s.v7i4.414

Authors

Dusty Widha Hutama Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, Malang, Indonesia
Driana Leniwati Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang, Malang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62794/je3s.v7i4.414

Keywords:

Asset Maintenance Budgeting, Logistics, Political Economy Accounting, Qualitative Case Study, State-Owned Enterprise

Abstract

This study examines how fixed asset maintenance budgeting is formed, implemented, and negotiated within a state-owned logistics enterprise in Indonesia, using a Political Economy Accounting (PEA) perspective. Rather than treating budgeting as a neutral technical exercise, PEA views accounting practice as an outcome of power relations, economic pressure, and institutional interests. Using a theory-informed, single-case qualitative design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with eight informants across head-office and terminal-level units, of whom seven contribute directly to the interview evidence reported below, together with direct observation and internal documentation (budget plans, realization reports, and internal policies). Findings show that maintenance budgeting for port loading-and-unloading equipment begins as a technical-operational exercise grounded in equipment condition, breakdown history, and manufacturer (OEM) recommendations, but is subsequently filtered through corporate governance mechanisms (unit cost standards, budget ceilings, and standardized templates) that transform technical need into a governance instrument. Informants recurrently reported deviation between budget and realization, attributing it to unplanned breakdowns, imported spare-part price fluctuations, and additional work identified during dismantling; they characterized these deviations primarily as adaptive responses to technical uncertainty, although the available evidence cannot rule out contributing planning or forecasting weaknesses. Viewed through PEA, budget decisions appear shaped simultaneously by four dimensions: political (government regulation and Ministry of SOE direction), economic (efficiency and cost-effectiveness pressure), social (the enterprise’s public-service mandate and the wider consequences of equipment downtime), and managerial interest (inter-unit negotiation between technical and finance functions). Building on this pattern, the study advances “adaptive, PEA-informed budgeting” as an emergent analytical proposition, in which flexibility and continuous justification, rather than rigid plan-realization matching, are treated as meaningful markers of budgetary accountability in this institutional setting, and outlines the further evidence needed to establish it as a distinct theoretical contribution.

References

Abdelkader, E. M., Al-Sakkaf, A., Ebrahim, K., & Elkabalawy, M. (2025). Maintenance budget allocation models of existing bridge structures: Systematic literature and scientometric reviews of the last three decades. Infrastructures, 10(9), 252. https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures10090252

Adebayo, A. (2026). Managerial and legal accountability in state-owned enterprises: Exploring financial sustainability through accounting for and reporting public service obligations. Accounting Research Journal, 39(2), 197–219. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARJ-02-2025-0068

Ahmad, A. H., Syarvina, W., & Nasution, Y. S. J. (2026). Analysis of the implementation of fixed asset accounting based on financial accounting standards statement PSAK 216 at PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) IV. JASa (Jurnal Akuntansi, Audit dan Sistem Informasi Akuntansi), 10(1), 178–185. https://doi.org/10.36555/jasa.v10i1.3024

Alawattage, C., & Wickramasinghe, D. (2008). Appearance of accounting in a political hegemony. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 19(3), 293–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2006.08.006

Anthony, R. N., & Govindarajan, V. (2007). Management control systems (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

AR, M., Syamsidar, & Efendy, D. (2018). Pengaruh sistem pelaporan dan kejelasan sasaran anggaran terhadap akuntanbilitas kinerja instansi pemerintah (Studi pada satuan kerja pemerintah Aceh). Jurnal Riset Inspirasi Manajemen dan Kewirausahaan, 2(2), 95–101. https://doi.org/10.35130/jrimk.v2i2.21

Asatryan, Z., Christofzik, D. I., & Nover, J. (2026). Doubling down political budget cycles: The role of state-owned enterprises. Economics & Politics, 38(1), 306–326. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecpo.70025

Azizy, N., Indayani, & Abdullah, S. (2023). Effect of fixed assets and local revenue on maintenance expenditure. Conference on Economic and Business Innovation (CEBI), 3(1), 197–208. https://doi.org/10.31328/cebi.v3i1.321

Cheikh, K., Boudi, E. M., Rabi, R., & Mokhliss, H. (2024). Balancing the maintenance strategies to making decisions using Monte Carlo method. MethodsX, 13, 102819. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2024.102819

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE.

Denzin, N. K. (2009). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods. AldineTransaction.

Harfianah, S., & Faisal. (2023). Faktor-faktor yang memengaruhi pengelolaan aset pemerintah. E-Jurnal Akuntansi, 33(10), 2534–2549. https://doi.org/10.24843/EJA.2023.v33.i10.p01

Hauashdh, A., Nagapan, S., Jailani, J., & Gamil, Y. (2024). An integrated framework for sustainable and efficient building maintenance operations aligning with climate change, SDGs, and emerging technology. Results in Engineering, 21, 101822. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2024.101822

Hipui, S., & Liestiawati, F. I. D. (2025). Factors influencing the optimization of asset management and reporting at the Regional Financial and Asset Management Agency of Mahakam Ulu Regency. Journal of Law, Politic and Humanities, 5(3), 1882–1893. https://doi.org/10.38035/jlph.v5i3.1347

Hopper, T., & Powell, A. (1985). Making sense of research into the organizational and social aspects of management accounting: A review of its underlying assumptions. Journal of Management Studies, 22(5), 429–465. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.1985.tb00007.x

Hoque, Z., & Hopper, T. (1994). Rationality, accounting and politics: A case study of management control in a Bangladeshi jute mill. Management Accounting Research, 5(1), 5–30. https://doi.org/10.1006/mare.1994.1002

Jiang, Q., Zhou, J., Kuang, X., & Chen, S. (2025). Budgetary participation and organizational performance in Chinese public hospitals: Facilitation or inhibition? Frontiers in Public Health, 13, 1601181. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1601181

Lhutfi, I., Ludigdo, U., Rusydi, M. K., & Baridwan, Z. (2024). Political economy of accounting (PEA) perspectives on sustainable development goals (SDGs) toward local government’s budgeting in Indonesia. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1), 2388170. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2388170

Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications.

Malterud, K., Siersma, V. D., & Guassora, A. D. (2016). Sample size in qualitative interview studies: Guided by information power. Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1753–1760. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315617444

Marniati, Panimba, W., & Lintin, M. T. (2023). Analisis efektivitas dan efisiensi penggunaan anggaran pada Dinas Perhubungan Kabupaten Tana Toraja. Journal Economic Excellence Ibnu Sina, 1(2), 38–48. https://doi.org/10.59841/excellence.v1i2.303

Martya, C., Febriansyah, E., & Muliawati, M. (2026). Analysis of the application of government accounting standards to fixed assets and its impact on audit opinions. EKOMBIS REVIEW: Jurnal Ilmiah Ekonomi dan Bisnis, 14(1), 807–818. https://doi.org/10.37676/ekombis.v14i1.9078

Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Moleong, L. J. (2007). Metodologi penelitian kualitatif. PT Remaja Rosdakarya.

Mugisana, R., & Sukanta, T. A. (2026). Optimization of fixed asset accounting information systems in supporting asset management at Bandung City Rusunawa Regional Technical Implementation Unit. Journal of Innovation and Community Engagement, 7(1), 58–74. https://doi.org/10.28932/ice.v7i1.14324

Nithin, A. H., Hobbs, M., Sriramula, S., & Sripada, Y. (2022). An approach to improve asset maintenance and management priorities using machine learning techniques. Safety and Reliability, 41(3), 151–169. https://doi.org/10.1080/09617353.2022.2142011

OECD. (2024). Ownership and governance of state-owned enterprises 2024. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/395c9956-en

Parra, C., Morán, C., Pizarro, F., Duque, P., Aránguiz, A., González-Prida, V., & Parra, J. (2024). Implementation of the asset management, operational reliability and maintenance survey in recycled beverage container manufacturing lines. Information, 15(12), 784. https://doi.org/10.3390/info15120784

Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.

Qadri, R. A. (2024). “Hamka-ccounting”: Defining the philosophy of Hamka’s political economy of accounting. Bina Ekonomi, 28(1), 59–78. https://doi.org/10.26593/be.v28i1.7800.59-78

Simons, R. (1995). Levers of control: How managers use innovative control systems to drive strategic renewal. Harvard Business School Press.

Sinjar, A., Burhanuddin, & Yusuf, D. (2020). Analisis efisiensi anggaran pemeliharaan jalan wilayah Kota Palu pada Dinas Bina Marga dan Penataan Ruang Daerah Propinsi Sulawesi Tengah. Jurnal Kolaboratif Sains, 3(7), 338–346. https://doi.org/10.56338/jks.v3i7.1737

Uddin, S., & Hopper, T. (2001). A Bangladesh soap opera: Privatisation, accounting, and regimes of control in a less developed country. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 26(7–8), 643–672. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0361-3682(01)00019-8

Wang, Y., Li, P., Al-Sayed, M., & Gong, Y. (Jack). (2025). The evolution of management control combinations in the transformation toward hybridity: A case study. Accounting Forum. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01559982.2025.2574126

Wicaksana, A., Harmono, & Yuniarti, S. (2021). Pengaruh inventarisasi aset, penggunaan aset, pengamanan dan pemeliharaan aset terhadap optimalisasi aset tetap tanah pada pemerintah Kabupaten Malang. Publisia: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi Publik, 6(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.26905/pjiap.v6i1.5514

Wickramasinghe, D., & Hopper, T. (2005). A cultural political economy of management accounting controls: A case study of a textile mill in a traditional Sinhalese village. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 16(4), 473–503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2003.07.001

Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). SAGE Publications.