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This article contributes to the continuing debate on the impact of the new public management (NPM) values on public sector accounting education (PSAE) in universities. Informed by the author's personal experiences in Australian universities, it offers valuable insights into how NPM-driven financial rationales by top university management play a pivotal role in the fall of PSAE in universities. Higher education providers, policy-makers and professional accounting bodies worldwide will find this reflective piece valuable regarding their strategic thinking in producing next-generation professional accountants. This article focuses on an insider's critical reflections on the impact of new public management (NPM) values on public sector accounting education (PSAE) in universities. Drawing on the 'reflection-in action' approach, it contributes to the higher education and NPM literature by demonstrating whether and how NPM-driven financial rationales by university top management play a significant role in the fall of PSAE in an undergraduate accounting programme. The article proposes a new course on public sector accounting as a sustainable option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine how employees learn from a performance measurement system. Employing the social construction of reality theory, we analyse how actors constructed knowledge in their specific setting. Qualitative research within a local government entity involved interviews, observation of meetings and examination of archival records. We find that the process of individual learning from a performance measurement system is based around aligning varying episodic experiences of individuals at differing levels. The outcome of these findings is that learning by individuals is a socio‐technical process in which the use of performance measures is embedded in everyday thinking of the social world examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite considerable progress in understanding the adoption and practice of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as a performance management tool in government organisations, how a well‐designed BSC can become a sustainable organisational practice remains under explored and of central importance. Through a qualitative field study carried out within a government agency (Alpha), this paper demonstrates that Alpha's senior management implemented a BSC framework because they believed it would benefit the agency to realise its broader organisational and socio‐economic goals, namely sustainable organisational efficiency and social status. We conclude that an organisation's performance management systems can travel across internal organisational boundaries over time and could be assimilated by organisational actors to become a sustained internal control mechanism in a complex socio‐political setting. This paper traces the implementation and adaptation of the balanced scorecard (BSC) by a government agency (Alpha) from its introduction by the company's first CEO through to recent times. It offers an understanding of how the BSC has changed over time in improving organisational system efficiency and effectiveness. This study will add to the body of knowledge for the public sector by providing an example of successful BSC adoption and the functionality and sustainability of the model in public sector entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, the Australian Public Service was subject to a process of governance, accountability and performance reform. The implications of these reforms for micro-level practices are unknown. The authors' empirical findings show that the reforms developed in three stages, each of which has significant implications for embedding performance measurement and risk management within a broader management control system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper complements prior studies on the public accounts committees (PACs) by considering the notions of 'agency' and 'structure' of institutional theory in tandem in understanding the changes in structures and activities of the PAC of a less-developed democratic country - Bangladesh. While prior studies examined 'external' institutional pressures on the development and operation of the PAC in various settings, the role of internal and external institutional agents in this context has not been their primary focus. Our empirical evidence from a qualitative field study indicates that over the past two decades, Bangladesh's PAC underwent significant changes to its internal governance structures and administrative processes. While these changes were indirectly driven by pressures from international donor agencies, PAC members and the national audit office played a key role as institutional agents in initiating and institutionalising the changes in PAC governance and operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This article identifies current performance measurement practice within state, territory and federal government departments in Australia with a particular emphasis on the importance of sustainability performance measures. Whilst voluntary sustainability reporting by private sector organisations aligned, for the most part, with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines is growing, there is little sustainability reporting by organisations in the public sector. This raises questions as to the extent to which public sector sustainability performance is managed. This research aims to assess the use of sustainability performance measures for supporting organisational performance improvement. Design/methodology/approach – A mail out survey approach has been adopted within government departments. Findings – The performance measures utilised by organisations to a great extent were in the areas of cost efficiency and quality measures and those utilised to least extent were for learning and growth measures and to satisfy legislative requirements and manage programs. Sustainability, environmental or social responsibility measures are the least used performance measures, and those utilised are mainly measures of employee diversity and non-financial economic aspects that are identified. Practical implications – The public sector is unlikely to adopt comprehensive sustainability performance measures while they remain voluntary and while there is no perceived need to be competitive in these areas. Either mandatory reporting is required or some form of competitive process based on performance measures implemented. Originality/value – The findings make a contribution to the academic literature on sustainability performance measures in public sector organisations and point to policy measures that may lead to improvements in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study on the rise and use of balanced scorecard (BSC) performance measurement system in government departments in Australia. The study used a mail-out questionnaire survey to gather empirical data on the use of BSC implementation, participants' profiles and BSC systems benefits. Moreover, the government's managing or working for outcomes framework plays an important role to shape the performance measurement practices among public sector agencies.

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to report on a study of performance measurement and reporting practices of four government departments in Australia. Design/methodology/approach — Relying on the "context" and "content" aspects of the institutional and strategic choice literatures, the paper suggests how external institutions such as government regulatory frameworks and internal organizational contexts such as strategic plans may shape the design of performance measurement and reporting of government departments. Texts and contents from archival sources such as published annual reports and department web sites provided insightful and interesting findings. Findings — The paper reveals that performance measurement systems design as a central thrust to the subject government departments' strategic planning and management framework. Furthermore, content analyses of the data indicate a clear linkage between the recently introduced "managing for outcomes" framework and performance measurement practices of government departments. Research limitations/implications — This is an exploratory study based on archival documents only, thereby provides limited insights into how organizational managers perceived the relevance and usefulness of performance measurement data. However, textual analysis from archival documents provides a rich description of how measuring and reporting of the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of today's government organizations could be the interaction of both internal and external contexts within which they operate. Practical implications — The paper adds to the existing public sector management and accounting literatures by suggesting that the construction and reporting process of performance measurement are crucial and relevant in today's government organizations facing a significant reduction in government funding with increased community demand for quality services. Originality/value — Experiences in subject government entities will provide a platform for academic researchers and/or practitioners from multiple disciplines to disseminate information on accounting and performance management in the changing public sector worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of a major initiative (the National Competition Policy) and pieces of legislation (the Local Government Act and the Local Government Finance Standards) on the internal practices of a large Australian local authority. Design/methodology/approach - A theoretical framework is developed using new public management (NPM) and neo-institutional theory literatures to explain the findings. A case study approach was applied to collect the data for the research. Findings - The findings reveal that the National Competition Policy 1993, the Local Government Act 1993 and the Local Government Finance Standards 1994 mainly have brought about significant changes to the organisation's internal management control processes, such as financial reporting, budgeting and performance appraisal. The changes brought in appeared to be coincidentally similar to NPM ideals. Furthermore, senior managers (such as the thief executive and divisional heads) played a major role in implementing new accounting technologies (activity-based costing and the balanced scorecard type performance measurement system). Research limitations/implications - Future research on public sector financial management from the outset of organisational contexts could considerably further the stock of knowledge in this area, especially given the rapid changes occurring within the public sector throughout the world. Future research may wish to extend this study by assessing how external legitimating functions become internal reality, the perceptions of reality of the organisational members, and how these perceptions change over time. Practical implications - The findings reported provide evidence to further our understanding of how the introduction of private sector styles of organisational practices into large areas of the public sector brought about significant changes in the demand for "new" financial management practices. Originality/value - The findings reported on in this paper will open a new path of research that may increase our understanding about the factors that play a role in the design of management and accounting systems in a public sector context. Further, they will help policy makers and public sector managers in their day-to-day decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]