BUDGETING PRACTICES IN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS OF ENGLAND AND WALES

Results of two surveys (1983/1988) of local authorities' budgeting practices for strategic planning, budget preparation, and budgetary control are presented and contrasted. Findings show both improved practices and areas needing improvement. The budgetary process remains dominated by reporting requirements that disclose the budgetary compliance position rather than control the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of operations. Shortcomings include limited use of mid- to long-term financial planning, inadequate profiling in control statements, general failure to distinguish between controllable and non-controllable items, and general disregard of non-financial output measures.     

LOCAL AUTHORITY E-GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS IN ENGLAND: A CASE STUDY

This paper uses a case study of an e-government partnership of ten local authorities to consider how governance structures, financial arrangements and performance management systems may promote or inhibit successful collaborative working. The case is considered within the contexts of continuing new public management reforms including the balance between formal performance measurement indicators imposed by higher authorities and the scope for dialogue in the development of performance management systems. The case supports a view that collaborative working can benefit from a governance structure supporting a consistency of objectives of the partners operating within similar political and regulatory environments. Externally imposed performance indicators are significant to the partner authorities but their influence does not exclude the possibility of more dialogue-driven performance management systems being developed within the partnership. Sustainability of the partnership is never assured and tensions develop as a result of developing priorities of individual authorities, the possibility of local government reorganisation and changing national policy initiatives.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

CURRENT ISSUES IN EXTERNAL ACCOUNTING OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC ENTERPRISES IN WEST GERMANY

The performance of private enterprises (profit/loss) can only be judged by the results of executed plans. As no single measure of performance can be computed for public authorities, decisions on the budget are central to their activities. Budget disclosure is crucial, whereas the public monitoring of its execution is peripheral. Depreciation charges in the public sector do not represent the same kind of loss of value as in the private one, and the meaning of the item equity is different, too. The sectoral accounting of the Bundesbahn is set up according to the criteria 'range of production' and 'responsibility' as opposed to the traditional divisional accounting of public enterprises. This leads to a fictitious profit in the so called commercial sector of the Bundesbahn.     

DEVOLUTION, ACCRUALS ACCOUNTING AND ASSET MANAGEMENT IN NHS WALES

This paper describes how a strategy for health services has been developed for NHS Wales and examines the role of accruals accounting in asset management and development. It uses archival investigation as well as interviews and a questionnaire. The role of accruals accounting in the operation of the service, particularly as it relates to the capital asset base of the Trusts and how these are managed, is discussed in the context that Trusts are autonomous units that develop services, and hence their capital asset base, through their own internal planning structure. It is found that, on devolution, there was a lack of consistent information about the stock of capital assets and that capital charges, based on accruals accounting, were not penetrating asset management within individual Trusts. Although strategies were being developed centrally, their implementation at a Trust level can be impeded as a consequence of accruals accounting.     

AMBITIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ASSESSING MILITARY PERFORMANCE IN CRISIS RESPONSE OPERATIONS

This paper addresses the issue of measuring armed forces’ performance in crisis response operations. By means of interviews (17 respondents) and a large scale survey (1,253 respondents) field and general officers of the Netherlands Armed Forces (NAF) have been questioned on perceived organisational success in crisis response operations. The Dutch officers assess the NAF's performance positively. A number of senior officers are hesitant about the usefulness of measuring the performance of crisis response operations. According to them the context in which the operations are being executed is too complex. Most interviewees, however, are convinced that measuring performance is useful and should be improved. These military leaders express a strong need for criteria to assess their performance on the job.     

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.     

COMPETITION AND MERGER ACTIVITY IN THE U.S. TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY

In this article we examine the U.S. telecommunications industry during a period of rapid deregulation to determine the effects of a deregulatory shock on industry competition and merger activity. We show that merger activity exhibits a clear wave‐like pattern, regardless of the listing status of the participants. Increased competition and IPO activity following deregulation increased cash‐flow volatility and probability of exit while the introduction of new technology increased dispersion of economic efficiency across the industry. These changes resulted in a significant increase in merger activity. Competition also played an important role in shaping “who buys whom?”     

AN EPISTEMIC COMMUNITY AS INFLUENCER AND IMPLEMENTER IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING IN AUSTRALIA

This paper explicates the dual role of epistemic communities as influencers of accounting policy within regulatory space and as implementers who effect change within the domain of accounting. Set within the context of New South Wales in Australia, and the challenge of the financial sustainability of its local councils, the study was informed by documentary sources, and used data from interviews and a survey. Accounting and finance professionals, as an epistemic community, played a pivotal role in formulating accounting policy and in embedding fair value measurement of infrastructure assets.     

“无边界竞争”时代的合作

企业必须学会超前思考、超前观察和战略性思考,你绝难预料到今天的供应商会不会在一次技术突破或者渠道创新之后变成竞争对手。在行业边界不断重构的情况下,企业战略的选择也需要更为灵活。越来越模糊的竞争边界,既会影响行业发展态势、打乱行业竞争格局,也在不断改变着多方利益相关者之间“合纵连横”的关系。在如今的“无边界竞争”时代,企业之间为什么合作以及如何合作,显然是一个值得思考的问题。