Competing institutional logics of information sharing in public services: Why we often seem to be talking at cross-purposes when we talk about information sharing

Sharing information and data across organizational boundaries has proved hard to achieve. This is, in part, because we have framed the problem, and possible solutions, in one of three conflicting ways that draw on powerful institutional logics: design, governance and enculturation. Five strategies for addressing this conflict are presented—contingency, combination, conflict, ambiguity and synthesis. The conclusion links the problem of information sharing to the paradoxical nature of information.     

Data for outcome payments or information for care? A sociotechnical analysis of the management information system in the implementation of a social impact bond

ABSTRACT

Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) are a policy intervention designed to explicitly link the activity of social interventions to outcome payments. Despite a burgeoning literature on SIBs there is a lack of evidence in relation to the information system characteristics and accounting mechanisms of SIBs. Applying a multi-dimensional sociotechnical lens to a case study of a SIB allows us to reveal the current problematic convergence of public management and information systems. The authors found that an information system within a SIB is introduced and adapted to increasingly prioritize the production of data for payment over documenting care accounts to support improved provision. The ?ndings of this paper also suggest that claims of SIBs as an innovation are limited as they are subject to the familiar problems of New Public Management practice, in the way they shape the design and use of the data in governance, management and service delivery practices.     

Information brokers and the use of budgetary and financial information by politicians: the case of Portugal

This paper analyses the intermediary role of the technical bodies that support the use of budgetary and financial information by central government politicians in Portugal. The main findings show that information brokers are playing a central role in preparing this information in a credible, simple and understandable way. However, even if not intentionally, the information they present can be biased. Politicians need to be aware that the information brokers they rely on may not be giving them ‘neutral’ information.     

The timeliness and consequences of disseminating public information by regulators

This paper documents different timeliness in disseminating sanction and enforcement information (SEI) by two types of regulatory agencies in China and the different consequences that flow from them. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) does not make timely public disclosures of SEI and, instead, leaves it up to the firms to make a public announcement under their general obligation to disclose price-sensitive information. The firms therefore have considerable discretion in deciding whether and when to disclose SEI. In contrast, the stock exchanges in Shenzhen and Shanghai make SEI public promptly through the media and the exchanges’ official websites. Using Chinese SEI data during the period 1999–2005, we find that the CSRC approach is associated with significantly lagged corporate disclosure (compared with the timely stock exchange approach) and a significantly negative (but delayed) stock price reaction. We also show that the sanctioned firm may take advantage of the less timely CSRC approach to delay its disclosure of SEI for opportunistic reasons such as completing material transactions. We conclude that the CSRC should make immediate public announcements of SEI as these contain price-sensitive information. Furthermore, the immediate dissemination of SEI will bring the CSRC into line with the disclosure practices of China’s stock exchanges and international market regulators.     

Sustainability adrift: An evaluation of the credibility of sustainability information disclosed by public organizations

This article aims to evaluate the credibility of information disclosed by public organizations in terms of sustainable development. It focuses on an under-studied aspect in the sustainability reporting literature—namely, the factors that may affect the credibility of disclosure practices. The study is based on a qualitative analysis of the sustainable development content of annual management reports disclosed by 113 ministries and public bodies in the province of Quebec, Canada. The findings shed more light on the main factors that affect the credibility of the information disclosed therein, particularly in terms of lack of transparency and flawed monitoring mechanisms.     

Audit report information content and the provision of non-audit services: Evidence from Spanish lending decisions

This study examines whether auditor economic independence affects the information content of going concern audit reports in the European setting. We conduct an experiment where 80 experienced Spanish loan officers from the second largest European commercial bank review a loan request under two lending scenarios: (1) a potential borrower receiving an unqualified but modified going concern opinion, and (2) a potential borrower receiving a qualified going concern opinion. Auditor economic independence, measured by the provision of non-audit services (NAS), is manipulated (absence vs. presence of significant NAS). We find that a qualified going concern audit report is interpreted as a primary warning signal (death penalty). However, the provision of NAS acts as a second order mechanism that only activates loan officers’ professional skepticism in the case of an unqualified but modified going concern report scenario. Therefore, we find evidence suggesting that the potential negative impact of a perceived lack of auditor independence depends on the nature of the audit report. Our findings have important implications for the European regulator, which is currently considering establishing an auditor independence regulation framework similar to that in the United States of America.     

Progress in the quantity of financial information in the public sector in Mexico following the LGCG

This work evaluates the amount, quality, and harmonization of the financial information published by Mexico City, the states, and the Federal Government during the period of 2008–2012, following the approval of the General Law of Government Accounting (LGCG). Firstly, the requirements indicated by the CONAC and subsequently by the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) are used to evaluate the publication of financial statements. Secondly, the compliance of the publication of the accounts indicated by IPSAS 1, 2 and 17 is reported. Finally, the harmonization of the financial statements is studied through the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) to determine if the financial statements are comparable with one another. The results indicate that the public sector has increased the amount, quality, and harmonization of the financial information published during the study period.     

Assurance provided by auditors' reports on prospective financial information: implications for the expectation gap

The results of this study indicate significant differences in beliefs between auditors, users and preparers of prospective financial information, concerning forecast reliability and the role and responsibilities of auditors and management. Contrary to the usual published studies on expectation gap, it was found that auditors believe that forecasts are more reliable than users or preparers. Auditors also believe that they have a higher level of responsibility and accountability than is attributed to them by users or preparers. Beliefs were affected by the type of report issued by the auditor and subjects were able to discriminate between the level of assurance provided by positive and negative assurance opinions. However, based on the responses of shareholders, it appears that the negative assurance opinion on assumptions for an audit might confuse users and might not meet the demands of the market.