Search results

Met behulp van een nieuw ontwikkeld meetinstrument naar morele opvattingen is onderzoek gedaan naar factoren die van invloed zijn op het ethisch redeneren van 209 accountants van een big four-accountantsorganisatie en 64 accountancystudenten. De resultaten laten zien dat senioriteit (een hogere leeftijd, meer jaren werkervaring en een hoger functieniveau) een positief effect heeft op het ethisch redeneren. Verdere bevindingen zijn dat studenten en mannen, vergeleken met accountants en vrouwen, vaak minder goed ethisch redeneren. Religiositeit heeft ook een positief effect op het ethisch redeneren, terwijl politieke voorkeur en opleidingsniveau geen significante of eensluidende effecten vertonen.

This paper shows how the performance budget of a local government organization, in this case a province in the Netherlands, can be attuned to the specific task characteristics of the programmes in these budgets. Three ways of alignment are suggested: differentiating between standardized and complex programmes; focussing on the politically most relevant programmes in order to avoid information overload; and distinguishing between the types of performance information in terms of the role of the province in the programme (facilitator versus executor) and the stage in the policy making cycle (policy development, policy elaboration or policy execution). These suggestions challenge the generally straightforward NPM rationale of performance budgeting, in which standardized outputs are directly related to resources. Our empirical research shows on the one hand that the redesigned programme budget based on the above principles received substantial approval of its users, i.e., the provincial councillors. On the other hand, as regards the use of this programme budget the picture is rather diffuse, i.e., the majority of the councillors indicate that they use the information rather intensively, but its formal use in official Council and Council committee meetings remains limited.

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.