Showing papers in "Financial Accountability and Management in 2018"
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the research agenda lineage on public-private partnerships from Broadbent and Laughlin's seminal piece in 1999 and argued that whilst a variety of research issues will continue to be relevant, five corresponding areas deserve future visibility for a renewed research agenda: (1) financialisation of PPPs, (2) global PPP market actors, (3) internationalisation of policy on PPP, (4) long-term complex contracts as a governing regime and (5) PPP in BRICS and developing countries.
Abstract: This paper reviews the research agenda lineage on public–private partnerships (PPPs) from Broadbent and Laughlin's seminal piece in 1999. The PPP phenomenon is viewed at five levels: project delivery, organisational form, policy, governance tool and as a phenomenon within a broader historical and cultural context. We argue that whilst a variety of research issues will continue to be relevant, five corresponding areas deserve future visibility for a renewed research agenda: (1) Financialisation of PPPs, (2) global PPP market actors, (3) internationalisation of policy on PPPs, (4) long‐term complex contracts as a governing regime and (5) PPPs in BRICS and developing countries.
55 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors develop a subtler analysis of collibration's role in public audit and integrate it into the processes of economization to illuminate the governance of public audit.
Abstract: Public audit has been under‐theorized, the existing literature too dominated by institutional description. Public audit may be interpreted as promoting transparency in order to generate trust, thus leading to legitimacy. Disaggregating transparency and trust, the article develops a subtler analysis of their role in public audit. By integrating collibration into the processes of economization, the governance of public audit and its operational activities are illuminated. Expected to be bloodhound, not just watchdog, public audit space is currently contested and can be forcibly evacuated. Transparency‐generated trust might be the outcome, but providing a well‐evidenced transparency should be public audit's mission.
41 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a novel framework of transparent, stakeholder-focused effectiveness reporting is proposed to assist the charity sector in discharging accountability, gaining legitimacy, and sharpening mission-centred managerial decision making.
Abstract: Effectiveness in achieving mission is fundamental to evaluating charity performance, and is of central concern to stakeholders who fund, regulate and otherwise engage with such organisations Exploring the meaning of transparency in the context of stakeholder engagement, and utilising previous research and authoritative sector discussion, this paper develops a novel framework of transparent, stakeholder-focused effectiveness reporting It is contended that such reporting can assist the charity sector in discharging accountability, gaining legitimacy, and in sharpening mission-centred managerial decision making Then applying this to UK charities’ publicly-available communications, it highlights significant challenges and weaknesses in current effectiveness reporting
36 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight differences in to whom CSOs across different categories perceive themselves to be accountable, what for, and the different practices they undertake to discharge accountability, and call for stakeholders to acknowledge diversity in accountability across different CSO types.
Abstract: Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) comprise a diverse range of associations, including NGOs, community groups, political parties and social networks Nevertheless, despite heterogeneity, regulators, funders and donors often treat CSOs as homogeneous when demanding accountability This paper highlights differences in to whom CSOs across different categories (or types) perceive themselves to be accountable, what for, and the different practices they undertake to discharge accountability It calls for stakeholders to acknowledge diversity in accountability across different CSO types This survey-based research finds CSOs weight upwards and downwards stakeholders equally, and undertake voluminous reporting They would benefit from negotiating multiple-use mechanisms, especially with dominant stakeholders In combining stakeholder and accountability theory, the research highlights specific CSO types needing further study
36 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide empirical evidence which informs contemporary debates on developing international financial reporting standards for not-for-profit organizations (NPOs) (CCAB, 2013a,b; IFRS Foundation, 2015).
Abstract: This paper provides empirical evidence which informs contemporary debates on developing international financial reporting standards for not-for-profit organisations (NPOs) (CCAB, 2013a,b; IFRS Foundation, 2015). Drawing on a global survey with respondents showing experience of NPO reporting in 179 countries, we explore: practice and beliefs about NPO financial reporting internationally; perceptions of accountability between NPOs and stakeholders; and implications for developing international financial reporting standards. Interpreting our research in the context of accountability, we find considerable support for developing international financial reporting standards for NPOs, recognising broad stewardship accountability to all stakeholders as important, but prioritising accountability upwards to external funders and regulators.
35 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss from a service systems perspective how accountabilities differ from a hierarchic and organisational perspective within the domain of New Public Management, looking to shed new light upon accountability as a research topic.
Abstract: In this conceptual paper, we discuss from the service systems perspective how accountabilities differ from a hierarchic and organisational perspective within the domain of New Public Management, looking to shed new light upon accountability as a research topic. The concept of service systems and their accountabilities are scrutinised and the role of integrated social and health care services is discussed in particular. The main argument in the text is the changing nature of accountabilities as the public organisations are being transformed into service systems. To date, the understanding of accountability has remained structural by nature – such is the case also for productivity measurement – but the shift from organisations towards services systems means that accountability ought to be considered as processual by nature. By processual it is meant that accountability should be considered as flows within systems – that is: flows between agents the content of which we argue includes not only knowledge on the outputs of public services, but also values, empathy and thus multi‐layered understanding of accountability. The paper concludes with practical insights for managerial purposes on the basis for this accountability shift.
27 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the link between the nature and drivers of EMA practice for waste and recycling services based on a survey conducted with local governments in New South Wales, Australia.
Abstract: The challenge of using Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) tools such as full cost accounting to improve waste and recycling management has been acknowledged for over a decade. However, research on assessing and understanding local government use of EMA, especially broader levels of EMA, is lacking. This study investigates the link between the nature and drivers of EMA practice for waste and recycling services based on a survey conducted with local governments in New South Wales, Australia. The study finds that although social and organisational factors are related to the uptake of EMA, local governments are subject to stronger functional demands than institutional pressures in their use of more expansive EMA such as indirect and external costs and impacts. This implies that the use of EMA in local government is viewed more as an adaptive activity to cope with functional challenges and achieve efficiency, than as an institutional imperative to achieve social acceptance.
20 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated a local government accounting reform in Benin supported by a German development agency, which was perceived as successful due to the participatory, pragmatic and incremental approach reinforced by conditionalities in the face of a neo-patrimonial leadership.
Abstract: Despite significant donor funding, government accounting reforms seeking transparent and effective management of public resources often fail or have limited success, especially in Africa, prompting questions about donors’ implementation approach and calls for studies of successful reforms. This paper investigates a local government accounting reform in Benin supported by a German development agency – perceived as successful due to the participatory, pragmatic and incremental approach reinforced by conditionalities in the face of neo-patrimonial leadership.
19 citations
TL;DR: The introduction of an independent public sector audit function was a critical element in the nineteenth century constitutional reforms of parliamentary and government accountability and created an essential precedent for current practice as mentioned in this paper, however, there has been very little published regarding the complex rationales around the origins, development and importance of independent public-sector audit notwithstanding that without an appreciation of these precedents it becomes very difficult to protect the Westminster-based system of democratic government.
Abstract: The introduction of an independent public sector audit function was a critical element in the nineteenth century constitutional reforms of parliamentary and government accountability and created an essential precedent for current practice. By examining the extent of scholarly research on public sector audit history, findings reveal considerable research examined the teleological development of public sector audit and the modern history in a New Public Management context. However, there has been very little published regarding the complex rationales around the origins, development and importance of independent public sector audit notwithstanding that without an appreciation of these precedents it becomes very difficult to protect the Westminster‐based system of democratic government.
18 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the concept of a network Performance Measurement System (PMS) and how it helps in terms of what is being controlled in the network, which exerts control and how this control is achieved.
Abstract: This study explores the concept of a network Performance Measurement System (PMS) and how it helps in terms of what is being controlled in the network, which exerts control and how this control is achieved. In analyzing PMSs, the distinction was made between their hierarchical and their socializing components. An exploratory case study was carried out on a public service network in charge of a local public transport. Findings from the case study are used to reach a preliminary conceptualization whereby network PMSs are systems consisting of three main building blocks activated on demand by three main network actors and where there is coexistence and blending between hierarchical and socializing practices.
18 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the role of accounting and the nature of accountability from the perspective of local government managers in the context of multiple flood events was investigated, showing that convoluted governance and extensive State and Federal Government funding arrangements resulted in some confusion among local councils and communities as to their eligibility for, and the timing of, financial support.
Abstract: This paper investigates the role of accounting and the nature of accountability from the perspective of local government managers in the context of multiple flood events. The flood events occurred in the State of Victoria, Australia during 2010‐11, and rural regions were the most severely affected by this natural disaster. The findings demonstrate that convoluted governance and extensive State and Federal Government funding arrangements resulted in some confusion among local councils and communities as to their eligibility for, and the timing of, financial support. Within this context, the study findings revealed how, as the first point of contact for local residents, small rural shires with limited financial and human capacity used accounting to address the impact of a natural disaster on a personal level.
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of the introduction of a performance measurement system (PMS) in a Danish municipality is presented, where internal transparency unfolds in terms of addressing performance measures and aligning them with the criteria of efficiency and effectiveness.
Abstract: Public managers perceive performance measurement as an indispensable element of modernising the public sector in the quest to achieve ‘more for less’, despite research showing that performance measurement in the public sector is risky in terms of unexpected and undesirable effects. Through a case study of the introduction of a performance measurement system (PMS) in a Danish municipality, our analysis focuses on how internal transparency unfolds in terms of addressing performance measures and aligning them with the criteria of efficiency and effectiveness. We conclude that there are two main reasons the PMS fails to address the desired effects in terms of modernising the municipality. First, an overarching focus by top management on outcome measurement results in inattention to the measurement of resource consumption and efficiencies. Second, empowerment of lower-level managers in the formulation of key performance indicators (KPIs) results in competence problems related to PMS design. Therefore, many of the KPIs are designed as milestone measures, chosen to constrain the influence of the PMS on daily activities. These factors hinder the organisation’s ability to design KPIs that attribute costs to outputs and therefore render the goal of internal transparency impossible to achieve for the municipality. The consequence is a PMS that loses track of its very purpose along with a false sense of security among top management regarding the optimisation of scarce resources.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the role of numbers in forming a city strategy in the case of Gothenburg, Sweden and illustrate how numbers make people act and react and shape the strategy process.
Abstract: This article examines the role of numbers in forming a city strategy in the case of Gothenburg, Sweden. The article illustrates how numbers make people act and react and shape the strategy process. The study is situated between the theoretical fields of accounting and strategy processes in cities. By relating them to the concept of ‘governmentality’, numbers are seen as helping render the city governable. Because strategizing is seen as concerning the future, the actors involved in drafting the strategy feel free to challenge historically institutionalized practices. The effect is paradoxical: the future-looking strategy process becomes a forum for solving current problems.
TL;DR: In this paper, the first phase of the Swedish Public Employment Service's renewal journey is studied by examining how the agency worked to achieve its new strategy and how the new strategy was implemented.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to study the first phase—from 2014 to 2016—of the Swedish Public Employment Service's renewal journey by examining how the agency worked to achieve its new strategy thr ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate and analyse how the internal audit process as well as the outcome of that process is used for politically reasons, by applying the political theory of politicisation to the analysis of the internal aud process within Swedish local authorities.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate and analyse how the internal audit process as well as the outcome of that process is used for politically reasons. This will be accomplished by applying the political theory of politicisation to the analysis of the internal audit process within Swedish local authorities. By applying the theory of politicisation, this study contributes to our understanding of how the internal audit process is open for the use of (de-)politicisation as strategies to influence stakeholders’ perception of the audit process as well as the identity and legitimacy of the auditee. Especially interesting is perhaps how politicisation in combination with de-politicisation can be used to either put emphasis on issues of political relevance or avoid addressing issues that are politically sensitive. Previous research on auditing in public sector organisations has predominately focussed on audit independence and the role of auditors. By applying a new perspective to the role of auditing in public sector organisations and by focussing on the process and the outcome instead of function, this study increases our understanding of auditing in politically governed organisations. (Less)
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace the development of the management accountant role at Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SIA) and show that the agency began a reformation by implementing the Lean management sy...
Abstract: This study traces the development of the management accountant (MA) role at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SIA). In 2012, the agency began a reformation by implementing the Lean management sy ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the effectiveness of bureaucratic controls in public sector outsourcing is contingent upon supplier competencies, and the authors develop theory and contribute to empirical studies about how the effectiveness is dependent on supplier competency.
Abstract: The aim of this article is to develop theory and contribute to empirical studies about how the effectiveness of bureaucratic controls in public sector outsourcing is contingent upon supplier compet ...
TL;DR: In a large sample of US private foundations, the authors examined the association between CEO compensation and an accounting-based measure of performance, administrative efficiency, and found a positive pay-performance association across time within foundations, but a negative association across foundations.
Abstract: In a large sample of US private foundations, we examine the association between CEO compensation and an accounting-based measure of performance, administrative efficiency. We document a positive pay-performance association across time within foundations, but a negative association across foundations. We interpret our evidence as follows: some foundation boards reward CEOs for high administrative efficiency, which results in a positive pay-performance association. However, some foundations are poorly monitored relative than others, resulting in higher CEO compensation and lower efficiency.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on Non-Governmental Organisations' (NGOs) broader social accountability, investigating their public disclosures on climate change commitment and performance, using a synthesised disclosure index.
Abstract: This paper focuses on Non-Governmental Organisations’ (NGOs) broader social accountability, investigating their public disclosures on climate change commitment and performance. Using a synthesised disclosure index, we analyse the annual reports of 30 NGOs, all signatories to the Australian Council for International Development’s (ACFID) Code of Conduct. Overall disclosure rates from 2008 to 2013 were higher for commitment than performance, but were very low overall. However, the number of NGOs disclosing information rose markedly over the period. Although it is not directly possible to attribute the change in disclosure levels to the implementation of the Code, the enactment of the new Code could be one of the motivating factors for NGOs’ disclosure practices and their demonstrations of greater social accountability.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors utilize a series of interviews with senior managers in order to identify why performance management did not gain traction and highlight the complex contextual factors which undermined this agenda.
Abstract: Ireland's Strategic Management Initiative was launched in 1994 and aimed to improve public services delivery. In line with public sector reforms in other countries, it placed strong emphasis on performance management in public sector organisations. Initiatives stressed the need for strategic planning and performance monitoring. The overall impact of these reforms was disappointing, with the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development reporting in 2008 that the Irish public sector lacked a performance culture. This paper utilizes a series of interviews with senior managers in order to identify why performance management did not gain traction and our contribution highlights the complex contextual factors which undermined this agenda.
TL;DR: In this paper, the importance of political decisions on the outcome of a merger in the public sector context has been investigated and the role of different actors as boundary spanners has been explored.
Abstract: Public sector mergers have the potential of being viable alternative to other public sector reforms in the striving toward making public service provision more equipped to confront some of the challenges faced today. Mergers however often fail to deliver promised results. Previous research point to the importance of post-merger integrating processes for realizing the synergies expected from mergers. However, so far these studies have focused on what occurs inside organizations and less on the interplay between different levels. By adopting a governance and top management perspective, this study increases our understanding of the importance of political decisions on the outcome of a merger in the public sector context. Further, this study increases our understanding of how organizational boundaries on different levels of merging organizations influence post-merger integrating processes and the role of different actors as boundary spanners. The results of this study are based on five case studies of public sector mergers at the local level in Sweden. (Less)
TL;DR: In this paper, an institutional logics theoretical approach is used to examine how an outsourcing scandal of overcharging for electronic monitoring of offenders was managed so that, despite public outrage, government was able to maintain its outsourcing policies.
Abstract: The paper takes an institutional logics theoretical approach to examine how an outsourcing scandal of overcharging for electronic monitoring of offenders was managed so that, despite public outrage, government was able to maintain its outsourcing policies. Using secondary data archival sources in the public domain, it examines the actions of the contractors and state agencies. The paper shows how organisations with different logics became co‐dependent and worked together to resolve the scandal. Market logics were temporarily reined back and state logics emphasised as the contractual environment was stabilised. But ultimately their purpose was protection of the markets logics‐driven policy.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the role collaboration plays in the development of transparency, trust and accountability in service delivery in prisoner transport in regional Western Australia and found that the complexity and scope of responsibilities, underfunding, poor departmental management, unresponsive contractors and the physical environment undermined the development trust, transparency and accountability essential for building effective working relationships between government and contractors.
Abstract: Explores the privatisation of prisoner transport in regional Western Australia. Focuses on the role collaboration plays in the development of transparency, trust and accountability in service delivery. Latent racism, the challenging physical environment, risks associated with unsuitable vehicles, uncaring contractors and ineffective departmental oversight contributed to transport failures. The complexity and scope of responsibilities, underfunding, poor departmental management, unresponsive contractors and the physical environment undermined the development of trust, transparency and accountability essential for building effective working relationships between government and contractors.
TL;DR: In this paper, a cross-disciplinary journal list is proposed to evaluate the quality of the work in healthcare financial management (HFM) articles, and confirmatory ranking input from independent researchers in a holdout sample is solicited.
Abstract: Publications in high quality journals often serve to indicate research productivity. However, many top‐rated journals infrequently publish cross‐disciplinary topics such as healthcare financial management (HFM). So, academic administrators and HFM researchers find it challenging to evaluate the quality of the work. Journals open to publishing HFM articles are distributed across multiple disciplines. Each field has its own journal rankings typically focused on their primary subject area. Starting with prior literature, we form a cross‐disciplinary journal list and solicit preliminary input from editors, associated editors, reviewers, and authors. We then solicit confirmatory ranking input from independent researchers in a holdout sample.