Public Sector Transformation and Ethics: A View from South Africa

This article describes the change processes the Government of National Unity adopted after the 1994 elections in order to transform the South African public service. It shows that the Government is faced with a number of problems (reasons for change) some of which emanate from the legacy of the apartheid past and others from the current situation. Further, the article looks at the vision, mission and objectives set by the Government for the transformation process, while the current change policies and programmes are also highlighted. Finally, the article explores how the Government is dealing with the ethical issues arising from the transformation.     

Gender, Professions and Management in the Public Sector

This article examines the location and status of women professionals in the public services, noting their small numbers in the élite sectors and at the highest levels. It also charts the rise in managerialism in the public sector, particularly in those areas where women dominate, and argues that the rise in managerialism is a gendered phenomenon which ensures that women remain in roles and occupations subordinate to men. Equal opportunities policies will have little effect while occupations numerically dominated by women remain devalued and continue to be controlled by men from outside the profession.     

Absence Management in the Public Sector: An Integrative Model?

Workforce absence rates in Britain have been found to be higher in the public sector than the private. The Government has set ambitious targets for the reduction of public sector absence rates and published a range of recommendations. The authors look at the ways the two sectors manage long-term absence. Although many public sector organizations, as well as some large private services ones, have systems in place, this article shows that these often contain structural weaknesses, and frequently do not operate in an integrated way. It is therefore concluded that many public organizations have some way to go to achieve the holistic approach to absence management advocated by the Government.     

公共财务管理与政府财务报告改革

本文根据政府财务报告主要反映政府财务受托责任和财务受托业绩 ,并为上级政府、政府主要官员、审计机关、监督机构提供政府财务信息 ,以及近年来公共部门存在一系列财务管理问题的客观现实 ,拟从报告主体内部管理的需要出发 ,阐述公共 (部门 )财务管理对政府财务信息的需求 ,提出改革政府财务报告的基本思路 ,以促进公共 (部门 )财务管理水平的提高 ,并推动政府对外财务报告的改进     

Performance Management Systems in the Public Housing Sector: Dissemination to Diffusion

This article examines a case study of the implementation of a performance management system in public sector housing in Fiji. The aim is to explore and provide interpretations of why performance management and measures were introduced and implemented and reveal if the indicators were appropriate to serve the strategies of the organisation. The article draws on diffusion of innovation theory and explores the effectiveness of performance management. The research approach is qualitative in nature and uses a case study strategy. Interviews and documentary evidence provide the empirical basis for the research. The organisation has established formal objectives at both institutional and departmental levels and has a performance management system at both levels. With growing pressure for commercialisation from donor agencies, the accounting and managerial practices seem to contradict the organisation's original purpose to provide housing needs for the poor. The case study extends the literature on performance management in developing countries and illuminates the deficiencies within the performance management system. This study has implications for practitioners and researchers as it promotes a better understanding of a new public management practice technique which, in this case, was inadequate to satisfy local housing needs.     

Securitization in Public Sector Finance

Already commonplace in the private sector, the securitization of future income streams is now being promoted in the public sector as a means of accessing investment capital. This article reports on a British university's securitization of 30 years' future rents on its student accommodation. Although the securitization made it possible to refurbish the residences, it has turned out to be costly in other respects. The authors conclude that investment returns in the public sector will rarely be sufficient to cover the finance costs of securitization; that the loss of the securitized income in labour-intensive public services is virtually certain to cost jobs; and that the accounting treatment of securitization needs to incorporate a realistic calculation of the movements in effective debt. Finally the article recommends that the value for money of any proposed public sector securitization should be independently checked by comparing its total cost of capital with the returns on its proposed uses.     

Cost Management in the Public Sector: Legitimation Behaviour and Relevant Decision Making

This paper presents a case study where a cost management project was implemented using action research methodology at two Finnish organizations working in a purchaser–provider relationship. While the study demonstrates the efficiency‐seeking motive behind the implementation of the management accounting tool, subsequent investigation found that tool remained partly unused despite showing its potential relevance for practice through user involvement. However, this does not necessarily signal legitimation‐seeking behaviour. Reasons for not using some parts of the tool point to an overestimation of the functionality and an underestimation of implementation problems during the design process. The case also highlights the relationship between relevance and decision making.     

Engagement Research in Public Sector Accounting

Abstract: This paper argues for the value of engagement research in order to encourage public sector accounting academics to take such an approach. Given that there is little evidence about the practice or value of engagement research, however, we set out to explore, evaluate and establish the lessons learned from a specific episode of engagement research. In outlining a project carried out between 2003 and 2005 by Amanda Ball and Vernon Soare, which sought to promote sustainability reporting in public service organisations, we argue that this form of research may positively impact government, public policy, professional accounting institutions and others involved in regulating or otherwise standardising public sector accounting practice.     

Exploring Fit in Public Sector Organizations

Municipalities are complex organizational systems composed of policies, activities and resources. Using an in-depth case study analysis, the elements that make up the organizational systems of three municipalities in southern California are explored. This analysis shows how variation in fiscal health can be attributed to structural and managerial choices regarding the design and organizing of towns and cities. With a better understanding of both the internal and external fit of the organization, a city's managers may be able to make more careful decisions and improve day-to-day management and develop an area.     

Performance Assessment of Public Sector Scientists

Publicly-funded scientific research establishments are complex organizations requiring considerable management skills to optimize performance. This article identifies the performance indicators (PIs) used in the appraisal of public sector science in the UK and assesses their relevance in relation to the Balanced Score Card (BSC) management tool. The author found that current PIs in UK science relate primarily to scientific peer-group interests and are unlikely, on their own, to facilitate the optimization of organizational management. The article also suggests how concentration on these PIs could hinder the implementation of government science policies, for example public understanding of science, and wealth creation.     

The Use and Abuse of Accounting in the Public Sector Financial Management Reform Program in Australia

Accrual accounting has been central to financial management reforms designed to promote greater efficiency, effectiveness and accountability in the Australian public sector. This is the setting for the article; however, the issues covered apply to all nations that have reformed their public sectors over recent years. The results of the reforms have been mixed. While accrual accounting has had some beneficial results for the above purposes, the benefits have been offset by aspects of accounting misuse resulting largely from adoption of the business model of accrual accounting, termination of the former cash accounting system, and adoption of some questionable marketization reforms which appear to be more driven by the objective of reducing the size of government rather than enhancing efficiency of operations. Because Treasury believed that the business model was not appropriate for budget fiscal policy purposes, it introduced a second combined accrual and cash accounting system—the Government Finance Statistics system. The use of two accrual accounting systems reporting different results caused much confusion in parliament.