决算夜

忙忙碌碌的身影,上下翻飞的传票,憧憬期待的眼神,会心甜蜜的笑容……这是一个工行全体员工共同参与的决算日子,是一个让人心潮澎湃的收获季节。     

USER NEEDS AND FINANCIAL REPORTING – A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE

This paper takes a user needs perspective to analyse the usefulness of past and current systems of financial reporting by local authorities and the National Health Service (NHS). It suggests that attempts to construct a conceptual framework should be more closely aligned to the findings of studies of actual usage of financial reports in both of the sectors. These point to the need for simplified reporting systems which recognise (a) different levels of capability and resource availability to interrogate financial information and (b) the need to articulate with, but decrease total reliance on, the traditional general purpose financial report.     

ASSESSING COMPETITION AMONG LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN ENGLAND AND WALES

The government has directed a series of initiatives at local authorities in England and Wales with a view to reducing the volume of current expenditure. In particular, in 1981 the government recommended that local authorities in England and Wales should publish various indicators of activity in their annual reports. The objective was to stimulate competition between authorities, and thereby both influence their spending plans and improve efficiency. This paper examines the trends in the published data over a five-year period to determine whether there has been any detectable increase in competition in local authorities. The results are negative.     

PERFORMANCE REPORTING BY MALAYSIAN LOCAL AUTHORITIES: IDENTIFYING STAKEHOLDER NEEDS

The concept of public accountability promotes the need for a comprehensive set of performance‐related information to satisfy the information needs of a diverse stakeholder interest group. However, literature concerned with the scope of information to be disclosed, and in particular within the context of a developing country, is limited. This paper identifies the information set which stakeholders of Malaysian local authorities consider relevant in the monitoring and assessment of local authority performance. Stakeholders indicated strong interest in performance information that is not traditionally disclosed in the financial statements: non‐financial information particularly performance measurement of outputs, outcomes, efficiency and effectiveness. Disclosures in the Statement of Revenue and Expenditure and forward‐looking information are generally regarded as the most important disclosures. The results of the study also indicate differences amongst stakeholders as to the level of importance that they place on certain items especially items related to internal policies and governance and financial position of the local authorities. The findings will be of significance to policy makers interested in improving the performance reporting of Malaysian public sector entities, particularly local authorities.     

THE INFLATION ADJUSTMENT OF CORPORATE ACCOUNTS: THE CASE OF MONETARY ITEMS

This paper investigates the sensitivity of the computed loss from holding monetary items to alternative numerical estimating techniques. Using data from 38 companies for the fiscal year 1980-81, we find that estimation of the loss from holding monetary items is robust with respect to the calculating technique utilized, provided the monetary base is broadly defined. The implications of this for “market model” type studies of the impact of inflation adjustments are discussed.     

ESTIMATING THE INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN FROM PUBLISHED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

This paper presents a new approach to estimating the longrun internal rate of return (IRR) for the firm from the accountant's rate of profit based on published financial statements. The model developed for estimating the IRR includes both capital and net working asset investments. Modelling and estimating the growth of the firm is an integral part of the approach. Furthermore, estimating the parameters describing the long-run financing behavior of the firm is presented based on discounted average funds flow statements. Finally, the approach is applied on the financial data of a large Finnish business enterprise.     

ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE POLL TAX: THE IMPACT ON LOCAL AUTHORITY BUDGETS OF THE REFORM OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE IN ENGLAND

In 1990 the United Kingdom government introduced major reforms to the system of local government finance in England. The most dramatic change was the replacement of domestic property taxation by a flat rate community charge, or poll tax. The government's principal argument for this reform was that it would enhance the accountability of local authorities to their electorates. This paper examines the nature of this accountability link, and develops measures of the extent to which the new arrangements have increased accountability. A model is presented which seeks to determine whether the changes in accountability have led to changes in the expenditure patterns of local authorities in the first year of the reforms. The results are negative, and this preliminary evidence therefore suggests that the accountability arguments for the reforms are spurious.     

FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY OF STATUTORY AUTHORITIES IN AUSTRALIA

In Australia, statutory authorities constitute the main form of non-Departmental organisation in the public sector. Although devised on UK Westminster blueprints, they have developed several unique characteristics as an organisational type. These characteristics have given rise to a number of problems of unsatisfactory performance, inadequate financial accountability and inappropriate creation processes. Although several improvement initiatives have recently been (or are about to be) adopted to address these issues there is a very real question hanging over their practicality. This paper looks at characteristics of Commonwealth statutory authorities which have an important bearing on these problems; particularly the problem of improving financial accountability for management performance. The paper reviews the accountability context and structures of Commonwealth statutory authorities, highlights various shortcomings which contribute to the present unsatisfactory situation and discusses factors that may determine the possible extent of real improvement from forthcoming initiatives.