Acronyms | p. viii |
Useful websites | p. x |
Foreword | p. xii |
Preface | p. xiv |
Government and the public sector in Australia | p. 1 |
Introduction | p. 1 |
Defining the public sector | p. 1 |
The significance of government | p. 6 |
Accountability: the defining characteristic of democratic government | p. 12 |
Constitutional sources of financial accountability | p. 15 |
Threats to financial accountability | p. 21 |
Performance accountability | p. 26 |
The structure of Australian governments | p. 28 |
Conclusion | p. 41 |
Accountability in the Australian public sector | p. 42 |
Introduction | p. 42 |
The chain of accountability | p. 43 |
Definition of accountability | p. 47 |
Dimensions of accountability | p. 51 |
Regularity and legality | p. 53 |
Economy | p. 54 |
Efficiency | p. 55 |
Effectiveness | p. 63 |
Ethical performance and a fair society | p. 65 |
The myths of Westminster accountability | p. 68 |
Conclusion | p. 78 |
The institutional framework of accountability | p. 79 |
Introduction | p. 79 |
Departments | p. 80 |
Statutory authorities | p. 83 |
Government business enterprises | p. 86 |
Institutions of public sector accountability and financial control | p. 89 |
Conclusion | p. 109 |
Accountability for performance: managerialism in the public sector | p. 110 |
Introduction | p. 110 |
The contested terrain of public sector reform | p. 111 |
Public sector management: legacy and reform | p. 113 |
The influence of the private sector and the intoxication of competition | p. 117 |
Theoretical foundations of reform | p. 121 |
Three decades of Commonwealth public sector management reform | p. 125 |
Financial Management Improvement Program (FMIP) | p. 132 |
Outcomes and Outputs Framework | p. 134 |
Personnel reforms | p. 141 |
Financial management reforms in New South Wales | p. 144 |
Competitive service delivery | p. 147 |
Conclusion | p. 153 |
Accounting for performance | p. 157 |
Introduction | p. 157 |
The role of management accounting | p. 159 |
Management control | p. 163 |
Costs | p. 169 |
The qualitative dimension to costs and the balanced scorecard | p. 180 |
Planning | p. 183 |
Conclusion | p. 192 |
The basis of public sector accounting | p. 193 |
Introduction | p. 193 |
Accounting and accountability | p. 194 |
The genesis of cash-based accounting | p. 198 |
Government accounting in Australia | p. 204 |
Cash-based accounting | p. 210 |
Accrual accounting | p. 213 |
The relative merits of cash and accrual accounting | p. 214 |
The adoption of accrual accounting | p. 226 |
Accrual budgeting | p. 231 |
Conclusion | p. 240 |
The preparation of public sector financial statements | p. 241 |
Introduction | p. 241 |
The budget process | p. 241 |
The NSW budget | p. 249 |
Public sector financial statements | p. 253 |
Financial statements of NSW budget-dependent agencies | p. 277 |
Whole-of-government financial reports | p. 286 |
Conclusion | p. 296 |
Critical issues in the implementation of accrual accounting | p. 297 |
Introduction | p. 297 |
Overview of implementation problems | p. 297 |
Implementation costs | p. 301 |
Acceptance of an accrual culture | p. 306 |
Consolidation accounting | p. 310 |
Measurement/valuation of public sector assets | p. 314 |
Further issues | p. 328 |
Accrual-based appropriations | p. 347 |
Conclusion | p. 351 |
Public sector audit | p. 354 |
Introduction | p. 354 |
The Commonwealth Auditor-General | p. 355 |
NSW Auditor-General | p. 374 |
Internal audit | p. 377 |
Conclusion | p. 379 |
Public sector accountability in the 21st century | p. 381 |
References | p. 387 |
Index | p. 395 |
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