Accounting and Management Reform in Local Authorities: A Tool for Evaluating Empirically the Outcomes

Since the last years many governments have undergone an accounting and management reform, being strongly inspired by the New Public Management (NPM) philosophy. This research note provides a methodology to explain the success (if any) of such reforms, by examining the level of compliance with prescribed accounting and management legislation and regulations. To measure the level of adoption of a reform, two compliance indices are constructed. Furthermore, this research note reaches a method to explain the cross-sectional differences in the level of compliance based on factors derived from previous research. After the formulation and explanation of the research questions and the derived hypotheses, this note introduces the concept of the compliance indices in local governments and clarifies the purpose and construction of the accounting and management index. The next section is devoted to an explanation of the research methodology. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the main findings and further research possibilities.

[1]  Municipal financial disclosure: An empirical investigation , 1983 .

[2]  J. M. Patton,et al.  An economic analysis of participation in the municipal finance officers association certificate of conformance program , 1983 .

[3]  Robert W. Ingram,et al.  Economic Incentives and the Choice of State Government Accounting Practices , 1984 .

[4]  Pradyot K. Sen,et al.  The role of generally accepted reporting methods in the public sector: An empirical test , 1984 .

[5]  C. Pollitt.  BEYOND THE MANAGERIAL MODEL: THE CASE FOR BROADENING PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT IN GOVERNMENT AND THE PUBLIC SERVICES , 1986 .

[6]  R. Ingram,et al.  Financial reporting practices of local governments , 1987 .

[7]  Robert W. Ingram,et al.  The effect of regulation on local government disclosure practices , 1987 .

[8]  M. Hartley.  South of the border. , 1987, Dentist.

[9]  V. Zeithaml,et al.  The Contingency Approach: Its Foundations and Relevance to Theory Building and Research in Marketing , 1988 .

[10]  Gary A Giroux.  Political interests and governmental accounting disclosure , 1989 .

[11]  C. Hood.  A PUBLIC MANAGEMENT FOR ALL SEASONS , 1991 .

[12]  Rita Hartung Cheng,et al.  An empirical analysis of theories on factors influencing state government accounting disclosure , 1992 .

[13]  Arthur C. Allen,et al.  FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE IN US MUNICIPALITIES: HAS THE GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD MADE A DIFFERENCE? , 1994 .

[14]  G. Tower,et al.  PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM IN NEW ZEALAND: THE PROGRESS OF TERTIARY EDUCATION ANNUAL REPORTS, 1990 – 92 , 1994 .

[15]  A. Pettigrew,et al.  MEETING THE CHALLENGE: ACCOUNTING FOR CHANGE , 1994 .

[16]  PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM IN SWEDEN: COMPETITION OR PARTICIPATION? , 1994 .

[17]  J. Broadbent,et al.  Evaluating the ‘New Public Management’ Reforms in the UK: A Constitutional Possibility , 1997 .

[18]  James Guthrie,et al.  Performance information and programme evaluation in the Australian public sector , 1997 .

[19]  G. J. van Helden,et al.  A review of the policy and management instruments project for municipalities in the Netherlands , 1998 .

[20]  J. Guthrie,et al.  Growing Accustomed to Other Faces: The Global Themes and Warnings of Our Project , 1998 .

[21]  Martin Painter.  After Managerialism — Rediscoveries and Redirections: The Case of Intergovernmental Relations , 1998 .

[22]  Peter Barberis,et al.  The New Public Management And A New Accountability , 1998 .

[23]  Beyond NPM: Developing Strategic Capacity , 1999 .

[24]  Johan Christiaens,et al.  Financial Accounting Reform in Flemish Municipalities: An Empirical Investigation , 1999 .

[25]  G. Jan van Helden,et al.  Accounting change in Dutch government: Exploring the gap between expectations and realizations☆ , 2000 .

[26]  R. Cunningham.  From Great Expectations to Hard Times? Managing Equal Opportunities Under New Public Management , 2000 .

[27]  D. Klingner.  “South of the Border” , 2000 .

[28]  Jonathan Boston,et al.  The challenge of evaluating systemic change: the case of public management reform , 2000 .

[29]  Andrew Stark,et al.  What Is the New Public Management , 2002 .

[30]  C. Fitz-Gibbon.  Evaluation in an Age of Indicators , 2002 .

[31]  Accounting Reform in Flemish Municipalities: an Empirical Study of the Evolution of the Outcomes , 2003 .

[32]  Mona V. Makhija,et al.  Comparing the resource‐based and market‐based views of the firm: empirical evidence from Czech privatization , 2003 .

[33]  N. Hepworth.  Preconditions for Successful Implementation of Accrual Accounting in Central Government , 2003 .

[34]  J. Stewart,et al.  Change Management—Strategy and Values in Six Agencies from the Australian Public Service , 2003 .

[35]  Montgomery Van Wart,et al.  Public-Sector Leadership Theory: An Assessment , 2003 .

[36]  J. Wanna,et al.  Public Sector Reform , 2004 .

[37]  Geert Bouckaert,et al.  Public Management Reform: A Comparative Analysis , 2004 .