A Review of New Public Financial Management Change in Australia

The Australian public sector, like many in other Western democratic countries, has in past decades undergone fundamental reform of its structure, processes and underlying ideology. Our objective is to document the key features of the transformation and the influences that appear to have been at work, and to trace changes in the continuing reform of public-sector financial management. In doing so we focus on the emerging debates over the implementation of financial management reforms and increasing public disquiet over many aspects of these reforms. The main focus is on the national level of government in Australia; however, we also draw on state government examples.     

“乡财县管”改革、基层政府治理与经济发展

县乡两级政府处于我国政府层级的最末端，是大量公共事务的最终承担者，科学合理的县乡财政管理体制，是提升基层治理能力的重要制度保障。2004年以来，我国一些省份相继推行了乡财县管改革，由县级政府直接管理并监督乡镇财政，乡镇财政管理权被大幅度上收到县。本文利用2000-2019年的县域面板数据和双重差分模型，评估了乡财县管改革对经济发展的影响。结果显示，乡财县管促进了县域经济发展。机制分析显示，乡财县管减少了行政管理支出比重，抑制了财政供养人员规模膨胀，降低了税费负担。这些结果表明，加强上级政府对基层政府的财政管理与监督，有助于改善治理水平、促进经济发展。本文也发现，在地形较为复杂的人口大县及经济较发达地区的县，由于改革一定程度上提高了县级政府获取信息的难度，不利于发挥乡镇政府的积极性，乡财县管对经济发展的提升效果相对较弱，这说明，乡财县管不宜“一刀切”地实行。     

Behind managerial reforms: the French experience

Inspired by new public management (NPM), managerial reforms in many countries from the 1990s onwards focused on three criteria: effectiveness, efficiency and enhancing service quality. These criteria were meant to be given equal weight in measuring performance, but this paper shows that some criteria dominated. The reform experiences of four countries are compared, with a focus on French reforms.     

A Factor Analytic Assessment of Financial Sustainability: The Case of New South Wales Local Government

Financial sustainability in local government remains a pressing problem which has seen a host of public policy interventions, including compulsory consolidation and performance monitoring through financial sustainability ratios. In September 2014, the New South Wales (NSW) Government announced a reform program centred on increasing scale in local government to make councils ‘fit for the future’. We apply factor analysis to the financial ratios informing the NSW Government's reform initiative to identify the underlying factors for observed financial performance data. We find evidence indicating that three independent underlying factors account for the adopted measures of financial sustainability. The public policy implication arising from this study suggests that the reforms imposed by the NSW Government on NSW municipalities may only meet with limited successa.     

Intended or Unintended Consequences? Resource Erosion in New Zealand's Government Departments

Internationally, a feature of public sector reforms over the last twenty years is the characterisation of negative effects as unintended consequences, yet the reform programme continues as before (Humphrey et al., 1993 and 1998). This article reports the findings from an investigation of ostensibly unintended consequences of New Zealand's public sector financial management system: resource erosion in government departments which both escapes parliamentary scrutiny and damages departments' capability to perform even core functions (State Services Commission, 1998a; and Controller and Auditor–General, 1999). The findings suggest that these effects might not be unintended. The system's structures and processes, including designed–in resource erosion processes and a surreptitious approach, are highly consistent with those advocated to facilitate privatisation.     

高等学校会计制度改革探析

随着近年来我国各项财政预算改革的不断推进、高校管理体制改革的不断深化,现高校会计制度己严重滞后于公共财政改革和高校改革与发展的需要,不能满足新形势下高等学校加强会计核算、提升内部管理水平的需要,迫切需要进行改革,以推动高等学校会计制度的改革,进一步提升高等学校的财务管理水平.     

IPSAS in Latin America: innovation,isomorphism or rhetoric?

ABSTRACT

Over the past 30 years, many initiatives have been undertaken to reform public administration in Latin American countries. Among other aspects, the reforms seek to improve the transparency and accountability of the public sector by modernizing public accounting and budgeting systems. The adoption of accrual accounting in the public sector has been seen as an innovation and it is driven by the implementation of IPSAS. This paper sheds light on the process of reform of public financial management in Latin America and the state of implementation of IPSAS. The paper analyses the driving forces for adopting or adapting IPSAS, as well as the obstacles and challenges in doing so.     

Value for Money? Neo‐Liberalism in New South Wales Prisons

The NSW prison sector has undergone considerable reform over the last ten years. The NSW government now oversees the operation of publicly managed prisons, one privately managed prison and a number of new public prisons operating under the new 'Way Forward' management model. In order to establish which approach to prison management offered the best value for money, the NSW government undertook a 'value for money' assessment in 2005. In this article, we argue the cost accounting information is privileged in the assessment process. However, we contend that this information was limited and partial, and provided a poor basis on which to form policy. Even so, the NSW government has proceeded on this basis. In order to explain this, we position the report within the wider neo-liberal turn in policymaking and the workplace reforms that have accompanied it.     

中俄金融体制转轨模式的比较分析

中国和俄罗斯经过多年的金融改革,大大改变了金融制度环境,取得了较大的成效。通过对两国金融体制改革路径的评析和中央银行改革、政府职能定位和金融市场存在问题等方面的比较,本文得出结论认为,必须增强转轨国家中央银行的独立性,从而有效保障央行货币政策目标的实现;必须准确界定证券市场的功能,科学推进证券市场的发展;必须加强中小银行建设,满足转轨国家中小企业的融资需求;必须加强转轨国家在金融转型进程中政府职能的重新定位。     

Accounting System Reform in Japanese Local Governments

The New Public Management (NPM), of which the change from cash accounting to accrual accounting is considered an important tool, has been in fashion in many developed countries. Japanese governments, however, have preserved control of expenditures on a cash basis, though recently financial management reforms in local government have begun to adopt NPM ideas. Using a contingency framework which views the reform of accounting sub-systems (management accounting, financial accounting and auditing) as stimulated by a combination of internal and external pressures, this paper explores why Japanese local governments managed to survive without accrual accounting and the prospects for further reform in the future. It is suggested that system change itself can be accomplished by internal pressures, in the form of mandated policies, alone but that sustained external pressures by citizens are required in order to achieve the intended outcomes of accounting reform.     

以市场检验推动公共服务型政府建设

20世纪80年代以来,在"新公共管理"运动的推动下,以英国、新西兰、澳大利亚为代表的一些国家普遍实行了"公共服务市场化"改革。这一改革浪潮席卷世界,并逐步发展成为大多数国家转变政府职能的一种主流模式。实践证明,与传统的政府"自给自足"和"垄断供应"模式相比,以市场检验为标志的公共服务改革大大降低了公共服务供给成本,提高了公共服务效率,改善了公共部门运行绩效,并为充分运用市场力量推动政府改革提供了新的机遇和动力。     

A process (re)turn?: Path dependencies,institutions and performance management in Swedish central government

Recent central government reforms have signalled a transition away from output-based governance and control to a more citizen-orientated and outcome-focused performance management ethos. Prior research suggests that this may give rise to institutional inconsistencies related to conflicting performance management logics. In this paper, we argue that rather than resulting in growing pre-occupation with outcomes and effectiveness, the emerging reform agenda may somewhat paradoxically reinforce managerial concerns with the operating processes underpinning public service delivery. Drawing on policy studies and management accounting research informed by new institutional sociology, we theorise these developments by invoking the notion of path dependency. We provide an empirical illustration based on field work in Swedish central government and adopt a multi-level approach in examining the evolution of performance management practices. While evidence of strongly constraining path dependencies is found at the overall policy level a case study in the Swedish Tax Agency shows that these may also embody an element of flexibility such that the meaning of inconsistent performance management logics is re-constructed over time. This illustrates how individual government agencies may link outcomes to operating process concerns and manage implementation problems related to conflicting and uncoordinated reform initiatives.     

Public pensions and labor supply over the life cycle

In order to remain fiscally solvent, governments of many countries have reformed their public pension schemes to encourage labor supply at older ages. These reforms include reductions in the generosity of public pensions and reduced penalties for working past the normal retirement age. In this paper, we consider how reforms to public pension systems affect labor supply over the life cycle. We put the recent empirical evidence on the effect of government pensions on labor supply in a life cycle context, and we present evidence on the effectiveness of tax reforms for stimulating labor supply over the life cycle. Our main conclusion is that the labor supply of older workers is responsive to changes in retirement incentives. The labor supply of younger workers is less responsive. Thus the trend towards lower taxes on older workers in many developed countries should continue to fuel their trend towards later retirement.     

省直管县改革与区域空气污染——来自卫星反演数据的实证证据

从政府治理结构改革的角度探讨如何推进环境污染治理是一种有益的尝试。从理论上来说,省直管县改革作为一种重要的政府治理结构改革,能够通过简化政府治理级次来改变政府治理效率,影响诸如环保等公共产品和服务的供给。本文采用卫星反演的PM2.5数据检验了省直管县改革前后县级区域空气污染的变动趋势。发现“财政省直管县”改革能显著降低地区空气污染水平,“强县扩权”改革则显著加剧了地区空气污染。稳健性检验、进一步的分析结果均支持上述结论。机制检验发现,“财政省直管县”主要体现为财力保障水平提升导致的治理变化,而“强县扩权”则主要体现为地方政府竞争行为改变导致的空气污染治理变化。总之,单纯的政府级次减少可能并不必然利于地方公共服务的提供,良好的财力保障为地方污染治理服务提供了支撑,竞争行为变化带来的改革效应则会受到政府对环境污染重视程度的显著影响。     

省直管县改革与区域空气污染——来自卫星反演数据的实证证据

从政府治理结构改革的角度探讨如何推进环境污染治理是一种有益的尝试。从理论上来说,省直管县改革作为一种重要的政府治理结构改革,能够通过简化政府治理级次来改变政府治理效率,影响诸如环保等公共产品和服务的供给。本文采用卫星反演的PM2.5数据检验了省直管县改革前后县级区域空气污染的变动趋势。发现“财政省直管县”改革能显著降低地区空气污染水平,“强县扩权”改革则显著加剧了地区空气污染。稳健性检验、进一步的分析结果均支持上述结论。机制检验发现,“财政省直管县”主要体现为财力保障水平提升导致的治理变化,而“强县扩权”则主要体现为地方政府竞争行为改变导致的空气污染治理变化。总之,单纯的政府级次减少可能并不必然利于地方公共服务的提供,良好的财力保障为地方污染治理服务提供了支撑,竞争行为变化带来的改革效应则会受到政府对环境污染重视程度的显著影响。     

Persistent public management reform: an egregore of liberal authoritarianism?

This paper explores how we may better understand public administration and public sector management reform. We often interpret our world through stories and this allows us to mentally map where we have been and where we are going to. The paper explores developments in understanding public awareness and that of policy-makers and its impact on policy. It uses the financial crisis and reforms implemented 10 years on to illustrate the points and explore the use of the term ‘egregore’ as a tool for understanding change. A mature free economy requires a strong state to balance deregulation for economic growth with regulation for the public good, necessitating improved policy capacity and good governance. It also needs public administrations staffed with competent, honest officials skilled in the art of statehood. The story of the financial crisis, and how we got there, conveys how to avoid future dangers.     

财务精细化：政府会计改革的突破点之一

现阶段,我国政府会计改革已进入到了深水区,众多专家学者结合国内外的相关经验,提出了包括采用基金会计核算法,重视资产及负债的确认、计量、记录等应对措施。作为政府会计改革最急需解决的问题之一——政府资产及负债如何精确得确认、计量、记录,政府在日常管理服务过程中的业绩如何确认已成为政府会计改革过程中必须逾越的一道鸿沟。本文通过引企业财务精细化管理理念于政府财务管理过程中,并通过分析政府财务精细化管理中的关键点,结合A政府机关的探索实践,拟对我国政府会计改革提出探索性的应对措施。     

Strategic performance management: A balanced approach to performance management issues in local government

The drive for reform in the public sector worldwide has focussed attention on the measurement of performance in public sector organizations. This is particularly true in local government. Local government has traditionally been concerned with measuring the delivery of primary objectives, or results, at the expense of secondary objectives, or the determinants of organizational performance. Current strategic management literature suggests that there should be a strong linkage between strategic plans and performance measures.Kaplan and Norton’s (1992) balanced scorecard and Fitzgeraldet al. ’s (1991) results and determinants framework can provide this linkage. This paper reports on research into performance management systems in local government using the four dimensions of the balanced scorecard: financial, community, internal business processes and innovation and learning. It shows how the focus in this system of local government has been on the results of council work, ie. financial performance and to a lesser extent on how the community views performance. Local government performance measurement pays much less attention to the determinants, or means of achieving long-term, sustained organizational improvement in internal business processes, and innovation and learning. Whilst these issues are recognized as important, there are few measurement processes in place to manage performance in these areas. Strategic performance management demands an approach that recognizes the importance of a focus on both results and the means of achieving these results. This paper highlights a suggested framework for strategic and balanced local government performance measurement.     

New development: Governmental accounting reforms in Latin America. The case of the municipality of Medellín,Colombia

ABSTRACT

Government accounting reforms in Medellín (Colombia) were promoted with the adoption of New Public Management principles. The reforms began by introducing accrual accounting, using this financial information for decision-making and, finally, adopting international standardization and comparability. This article shows how and why the government of Medellín modernized its public financial management systems to achieve transparency, accountability and efficiency.     

Accruals and ‘accounting numbers management’ in UK executive agencies

Public sector reforms have implemented business techniques, including management by results, cost management and accrual accounting, to make public entities more efficient and accountable. As a consequence, ‘accounting numbers management’ has become a way for managers in the public sector to adapt accounting figures to their interests. This study focuses on ‘earnings management’ (manipulation of earnings) in government agencies. The authors provide evidence of earnings management in which agencies try to keep net operating costs to around zero. The authors' findings question the effectiveness of financial targets associated with accrual-based measures.