Cost management and control in government: fighting the cost war through leadership driven management

In: Managerial accounting collection

Abstract

Government organizations spend enormous amounts. They employ a large percentage of the workforce. They have an undeniably huge impact on the national economy and wealth. Yet they are, for the most part, unmanaged. What passes for management is a combination of oversight and audit. Oversight is primarily reactive: offering negative feedback for failures and demanding additional rules and regulations to prevent reoccurrences. Audits look for "bright line" discrepancies and clear violations to those rules and regulations. Working in tandem, these processes provide indignant sound bites and the appearance of management that is really mindless compliance to rules.