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AbstractIneffective or incompetent controllership is, perhaps, the most common managerial failure found in the public sector. This failure affects outcomes and achievements in every area of public policy‐often profoundly. Controllers design and operate management control systems. The effectiveness of alternative control system designs depends upon the cost and production behavior of the good or service in question. But control strateg are seldom consciously or effectively matched to circumstances. As a consequence, public programs are too often simultaneously overcontrolled and out of control.

This book is about drivers of successful controllership. Successful controllership services provide an imperatively required support to managers, especially in times of change. But what makes controllership services successful? Our book provides the first comprehensive set of answers to this question. We argue it is not the selection of latest tools and techniques but carefully customized services, motivated and skillful employees, and intensive mutual exchanges with managers and open cooperation with other internal service providers. Our book thus addresses managers who want to learn how they best profit from a close collaboration with controllers, and controllers who strive to improve the quality of "their" services to deliver superior performance.

Different types of 'controllers' can be distinguished in the public sector. The authors' research indicates that public sector controllers acknowledge the distinctive characteristics of 'hybrid' controllers, but question some of the possible advantages of 'pure' controllers. This result could signal a decreasing share of pure controllers and thus a loss of financial expertise in the public sector. This article calls for the controller to be 're-invented' as a professional who combines solid financial expertise with an independent and critical attitude towards overly ambitious politicians and managers. The general public's support for public sector organizations could be enhanced if strong controllers counterbalance the sometimes too optimistic views of managers and politicians.