规范政府采购工作的思考

自政府采购实施以来，充分证明了实行政府采购在节约预算支出、提高预算资金利用效果，防止“暗箱操作”，确保政府机构的高效运转等方面起到了积极作用。但是在采购过程中，我们看到有许多环节诸如采购方式的选择、评审专家的管理、采购合同的监督等方面尚需规范，这就要求我们不仅要建立健全政府采购的管理体制和运行机制，还要求我们在运作过程中力求规范，以真正达到“公正、公平、公开”。     

Forensic accounting services in English local government and the counter-fraud agenda

ABSTRACT

Fraud is a growing challenge for English local government, yet the resources and support local authorities (LAs) have available to prevent, detect and investigate it are limited. Forensic accounting services (FAS) provided by external specialist private sector firms, particularly those undertaking mandatory external audit, might be one solution. Research reported in this paper suggests, however, that existing English LA users are not all convinced. Nevertheless, better awareness and understanding of what FAS have to offer, perhaps through case studies of successful implementation, would be a valuable contribution to helping local government enhance its counter-fraud capabilities and make informed decisions about how best to meet the increasingly complex fraud challenge.     

Credit to government and banking sector performance

The impact of credit to government on three aspects of banking sector performance – its deepening over time, profitability, and efficiency – is examined for 142 countries. Country regressions suggest a sizeable negative effect of credit to government on bank deepening in developing countries, but no impact in advanced economies. Bank regressions find that credit to government raises the profitability but reduces the efficiency of banks in developing countries; in advanced economies, there appears to be no impact on profitability but a positive one on efficiency.     

政府采购现场监督“三方法”

谈起政府采购现场监督，不少人认为就是到现场看看，还谈什么方法，那是小题大做。这是不对的。政府采购现场监督的实践告诉我们，现场监督也有其一套方法，并且掌握正确的监督方法，不仅可以提高效率，还能增强监督部门的威慑力，相反，则是事倍功半，所以说，明确监督方法很有必要。监督方法概括起来讲，主要有三种方法。[编者按]     

浅议政府采购的社会效益

建立完善的政府采购制度，对节约财政资金、促进产业结构调整、保护民族工业等方面都具有无可替代的作用。那么，如何规范和完善政府采购制度，进一步为我国现代化建设服务，具有重大的理论和现实意义。本文将在借鉴发达的市场经济国家基础上，通过对我国政府采购现状的分析，从社会效益角度指出当前政府采购存在的问题，并给予相应的对策。     

如何用好五种特定政府采购方式

政府采购是政府行为，各采购人为履行政府职能而购买货物、工程和服务的活动必须规范化，首先就要规范采购方式，明确各采购方式所适用的范围，以免在实际工作中出现随意选用采购方式的问题，既不利于规范化管理，也不利于监督检查。所以，明确采购方式是非常必要的，也是法律规定的内容。[编者按]     

The quiet return of equalization alongside incentive in the English local government finance system

Local authority retention of 50% of business rates revenue was introduced in England in 2013–14, to be increased to 100% in the next few years. This signalled a move away from formula-based grant funding towards a funding system based on economic incentives. However, the 2016–17 settlement includes adjustments that indicate that equalization imperatives remain part of the policy toolkit. Given the complexity of the influences on local authority funding, these could maintain a considerable role when the new system is introduced.     

Accelerating innovation in local government

This paper examines what local government leaders might do to achieve more major cost-saving innovations. It brings together the findings from four UK studies on what encourages innovation in councils, covering the perspectives of council chief executives, frontline employees, political leaders and middle managers. It discusses the similarities and the differences between different groups’ views. It suggests the most important actions local government leaders might take to successfully implement more significant innovations more quickly.     

Managing absenteeism in local government

Managing sickness absence effectively can produce significant cost savings as well as other, less tangible, benefits. This article shows why it is vital that local authorities provide tailor-made training on absence management for first line managers (FLMs) to develop ‘soft skills’, as well as acknowledging their specific organizational context. Development in this area should be an ongoing process which is reinforced with appropriate support from human resources (HR) professionals, and should be monitored as part of an overall absence management strategy.     

健全完善我国政府采购制度的建议

随着政府采购工作的深入开展与政府采购规模的逐年增大，健全完善政府采购制度、进一步规范政府采购行为，对节约财政资金、促进产业结构调整、保护民族工业等都将发挥巨大作用。针对政府采购制度中存在的问题，现就健全完善我国的政府采购制度提出如下建议。     

地方政府行为模式及其对地区金融生态的影响

地方政府可以通过各种方法控制劳动力、土地等要素的价格,事实上也就掌握了对地区金融资源的配置权.所以,银行微观治理层面的改善不能保证达成资源优化配置的宏观要求.要想进一步巩固和深化金融改革的成果,最终还须转换政府职能、强化全社会信用体系建设等.     

Emerging realities of local government reorganization

This article reviews ministerial claims about the financial benefits of the nine new unitary councils in England and finds them wanting. The new councils' own estimates for costs and savings use a variety of assumptions, some of which are plainly wrong. The resulting figures are not comparable between authorities and are difficult to reconcile with ministerial claims. The Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG) evidently does not apply rigorous evaluation standards and has a track record of refusing to divulge the evidence upon which decisions are taken and performance claims are made.     

Alignment of strategy and structure in local government

ABSTRACT

Strategic positioning and structural alignment in the public sector is a neglected area of research. This paper analyses the strategic positions of prospectors, defenders and reactors and structural alignment in Norwegian municipalities. Top managers responding to a survey perceived that the municipalities did align their organizational structures to the strategic positions for prospectors and defenders, but not for reactors, as hypothesized, but these relationships were modest. The top managers often found it difficult to provide consistent responses on their organizations’ choices of strategic positions.     

Setting consolidated reporting standards for local government

Under a corporatization trend, traditional financial reporting is generally considered unable to offer a complete view of the economic and financial activities of a group of public entities. Consequently, several reforms and standards have been introduced related to consolidated financial reports. Through interviews with key actors, the authors analysed the normativity process for issuing consolidated reporting standards for local governments in three European countries: Italy, Spain, and Sweden.     

Effective human resources processes in local government

Local authority HR departments have come under increasing government pressure to strengthen and professionalize their role. This article explores the perspectives of line and HR managers in two local authorities on how the HR function can best be organized to contribute to the development of their organizations. A new model of effective HR processes in local government is proposed.     

Designing a public procurement strategy: lessons from local governments

Public sector procurement faces competing priorities, such as cost-efficiency, legal conformity, the advancement of environmental protection and the promotion of innovation. In addition, procurement departments are moving away from being mere organizational servants to having a strategic function. This paper looks at current public procurement strategy research, revealing neglected aspects. The authors propose a new analytical framework and suggest avenues for future research.     

Rethinking the relationship between local government and financial markets

In the past 20 years local governments have increasingly looked to financial markets for capital financing. The markets want local governments to change their accounting systems and become more transparent, in order to offer information that is more appropriate to private sector investors. The authors argue that this approach is only a partial solution, and that local government and financial institutions would both benefit from changes in their relationships. The article identifies a double knowledge gap that needs to be filled if the public and private sectors want to work together as long-term financial partners.     

How to arrest the decline of local government

In political terms, the case for abolishing rates and substituting a local income tax has frequently been made, notably by the Layfield Committee of Inquiry into Local Government Finance: political independence of local government can only come through financial independence from central government grant. The financial case, which has so far tended to go by default, is based on the premise that local spending decisions can only be made responsibly if the cost of these decisions is felt on the authorities’ own tax base. With the existing level of government support, that is impossible ‐ at least with a Government which appears reluctant to follow through the logic of its new block grant and make rates take the strain of extra spending. Historically, local government has lost its powers in direct proportion to the decline in its tax base. Only local income tax will allow expansion of local responsibility in the longer term, and provide the basis for proper financial accountability. That should appeal to a Government which has often professed its support for such an expansion, and yet is also concerned with making sure that taxing and spending decisions are taken together.