Inter-organizational transactions cost management with public key registers: findings from the Netherlands Walter T. de Vries * Faculty geo-information science and earth observation, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, Netherlands, w.t.devries@utwente.nl and Hanneke Ester Former CFO Kadaster, Jachtlaan 65, 7313 CN Apeldoorn, Netherlands, hanneke_ester@hotmail.com Abstract Cross-organizational e-Government projects must comply with separate and alternative accounting systems. The compliance brings about two types of problems: the emergence of transaction costs because of having to create additional and often more complex, accounting systems and a reduction of financial autonomy and accountability of individual public agencies. Conceptually transaction cost theory, in particular through using the construction ‘asset specificity’ and ‘uncertainty’ can qualify these problems. Empirically, a case study approach helps to contextualize these problem in a given (inter-)organizational, economical and institutional environment. The present research employs these choices to explore how the Netherlands e-Government case of establishing national key registers affects the inter- organizational accounting practices and the financial autonomy of a single organization, the Dutch Kadaster. This domain study reveals that while cross-organizational e-Government projects indeed reach cost efficiency in back-office operations they also incur transaction costs in accounting. This increases the institutional uncertainty, while decreasing the asset specificity. Both effects imply a loss in autonomy and accountability of individual public organization, such as the Kadaster. Hence, while e-Government project may operate efficiently and effectively across organizations, it reduces that of individual organizations. Keywords (5-10): financial accounting; key registers; e-Government; efficiency; inter- organizational transactions; back-office integration