Perceived usability of local government (LG) financial statements by local councillors: comparative study of Finland and Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Haustein ◽  
Peter C. Lorson ◽  
Lasse Olavi Oulasvirta ◽  
Lotta-Maria Sinervo
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Usability Assessment ◽  
System Usability Scale ◽  
System Usability ◽  
Local Councillors

PurposeThis paper studies the usability of LG financial statements as perceived by local councillors. By drawing on a comparative view of two countries with different periods of accrual accounting use in the public sector, the authors investigate how local councillors assess the usability of LG financial statements in order to question accounting reform success. Determinants that influence the usability assessment are explored.Design/methodology/approachExploratory design: data were collected from questionnaires with 24 local councillors from five Finnish local governments (LGs) and 30 local councillors from six German LGs. An adjusted variant of the system usability scale was analysed with descriptive statistics and non-parametric group comparisons.FindingsIn both countries, the usability assessment of financial statements seems to be positive, indicating a successful reform process. In Finland, where the accrual government accounting reform has had a longer time to settle in, councillors seem to assess usability only partially better than German councillors. Several determinants of the usability assessment were detected, such as size and debt level of the LG as well as local councillors' gender, political orientation and education. Generally, councillors need more assistance and training in using financial statements.Originality/valueThe study is the first to conduct a quantitative assessment of the usability of LG financial statements as perceived by councillors. The system usability scale was adjusted to a public sector reporting context. The paper adopts a transnational comparative approach.

Guest editorialHappy endings and successful stories in public sector financial management: a lesson drawing perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 393-406
Author(s):  
Sandra Cohen ◽  
Francesca Manes-Rossi ◽  
Isabel Brusca ◽  
Eugenio Caperchione
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Financial Management ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Financial Management ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
And Performance

PurposePublic financial management has been characterized by the implementation of several innovations and reforms that embrace different areas and scope. These reforms aim at expenditure rationalization and efficiency enhancement, as well as the improvement of accountability and performance. Despite research having already paid attention to these innovations and reforms, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats empirically faced by public sector organizations still need to be investigated. This editorial introduces the special issue by emphasizing on the lessons that can be learned from past reform experiences.Design/methodology/approachThe editorial synthesizes some of the findings of the previous literature and evidences the necessity of both successful and unsuccessful stories, presenting a future agenda of research which emphasizes the use of case studies as a suitable method to get insights out of multiple experiences.FindingsThe four articles presented in this special issue, covering the topics of accrual accounting adoption, the use of financial statements by councilors, the use of performance information by politicians and the outsourcing of auditing in local governments, provide an overview of the efforts and challenges faced by public administrations by analyzing the influence of the institutional context, the relevance of political implications and their practical footprint.OriginalityIn this special issue, four successful stories that touch upon multiple facets of public financial management in different country contexts are discussed, and they signal important takeaway messages for further reforms.

scholarly journals Increasing Usability of Homecare Applications for Older Adults: A Case Study

Designs ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Panagopoulos ◽  
Andreas Menychtas ◽  
Panayiotis Tsanakas ◽  
Ilias Maglogiannis
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Usability Assessment ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
System Usability Scale ◽  
System Usability ◽  
Practical Guidelines ◽  
Depth Interviews

As the world’s population is ageing, the field dealing with technology adoption by seniors has made headway in the scientific community. Recent technological advances have enabled the development of intelligent homecare systems that support seniors’ independent living and allow monitoring of their health status. However, despite the amount of research to understand the requirements of systems designed for the elderly, there are still unresolved usability issues that often prevent seniors from enjoying the benefits that modern ICT technologies may offer. This work presents a usability assessment of “HeartAround”, an integrated homecare solution incorporating communication functionalities, as well as health monitoring and emergency response features. An assessment with the system usability scale (SUS) method, along with in-depth interviews and qualitative analysis, has provided valuable insights for designing homecare systems for seniors, and validated some effective practical guidelines.

scholarly journals Transparency of local government in Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Made Pradana Adiputra ◽  
Sidharta Utama ◽  
Hilda Rossieta
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Opinion ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Positive Effect

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence about the influence of the size of local government, the quality of local government financial statements, the level of local government response to the disclosure of financial information and the local political environment on the transparency of local government in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach The study sample consisted of 34 regional governments (provinces) in Indonesia in 2016, using purposive sampling and multiple regression analysis. Findings The results showed that the quality of financial reporting through the audit opinion and political environment have a significant positive effect on the transparency of local government in Indonesia. On the other hand, the size of the local government and local government response rate on the regulation do not affect the transparency of local government in Indonesia. Originality/value The agency, legitimacy and institutional theory have an important role in the underlying local government transparency practices in Indonesia. The results of this study should be used as the basis of thought and study to determine the factors that affect the performance of local governments from the financial and non-financial aspects.

scholarly journals Financial statements disclosure on Indonesian local government websites

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-128
Author(s):  
Wahyudin Nor ◽  
Muhammad Hudaya ◽  
Rifqi Novriyandana
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Education Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Opinion ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Websites

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which audit opinion, audit findings, follow-up audit recommendations, level of education, level of welfare and heads of local governments’ commitment influence the disclosure of financial statements on the official website of local government. Design/methodology/approach The data of this research comprise 68 financial statements during the period 2015–2016 collected from 34 local governments across Indonesia by employing the census method. The data then are analyzed using logistic regression. Findings The results of this study show that audit opinion has a positive significant influence on the disclosure of financial statements on local government websites in Indonesia, while the audit findings, follow-up audit recommendations, level of education, level of welfare and heads of local governments’ commitment have no significant influences on the disclosure of financial statements local governments’ websites across Indonesia. Originality/value The study contributes to the public sector accounting research by enhancing our understanding to the disclosure of financial statements on local government websites.

How can a municipal government continue operations during megadisasters? An analysis of preparedness using complex adaptive systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 779-792
Author(s):  
Masahiko Haraguchi
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Municipal Government ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Continuity Planning ◽  
Complex Adaptive

PurposeThis paper aims to examine how government continuity planning contributes to strengthening the public sector's emergency preparedness, resulting in enhanced resilience of the public sector. Government continuity plans (GCPs) are a recently focused concept in disaster preparedness, compared to business continuity plans (BCPs) in the private sector. The need for BCPs was widely recognized after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and the 2011 Thailand Floods. However, recent disasters, such as the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake in Japan, have revealed that local governments without effective GCPs were severely affected by disasters, preventing them from quickly responding to or recovering from disasters. When the GEJE occurred in 2011, only 11% of municipal governments in Japan had GCPs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes basic principles of government continuity planning using complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory while summarizing recent developments in theory and practice of government continuity planning.FindingsThis research investigates the Japanese experience of GCPs using self-organization, one of the concepts of CAS. A GCP will complement regional disaster plans, which often focus on what governments should do to protect citizens during emergencies but fail to outline how governments should prepare for an emergency operation. The study concludes that GCPs contribute to increased resilience among the public sector in terms of robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness and rapidity.Practical implicationsThis paper includes implications for the development and improvement of a GCP's operational guideline.Originality/valueThis research fulfills an identified need to investigate the effectiveness of a GCP for resilience in the public sector and how to improve its operation using concepts of CAS.

Unrest begins to boil over as China's economy falters

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
New Normal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Instability ◽  
Economic Slowdown ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Double Digit ◽  
China’S Economy

Significance Leaders describe this as a 'new normal', backtracking on their warnings during the era of double-digit growth that failure to keep growth above 8.0% would lead to social instability. However, unrest among the 770 million strong workforce is rising rapidly, much of it directly related to the economic slowdown. Businesses are closing and employers failing to pay wages and benefits. Local authorities are responding to this unrest with greater force. Impacts Tensions between workers and the authorities will remain high as local governments and police take a tougher stance with strikers. The current crackdown on civil society will reduce NGOs' ability to intercede in and successfully resolve labour conflicts. The impact of the economic slowdown will broaden to include workers in the mining and energy sectors. Low-paid public sector workers will stage strikes and protests as cash-strapped local governments cut employee pension and other benefits.

Do non-financial performance and accrual-based cost information affect public sector budgeting?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Kuroki ◽  
Katsuhiro Motokawa
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Cost Information ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Budgeting Process

PurposeThis study aims to provide evidence of how budget officers use non-financial and accrual-based cost information in the budgeting process and how the usage of this information is influenced by financial constraints.Design/methodology/approachA randomized survey-based field experiment investigating budget officers in 546 Japanese local governments (LGs) was conducted. This allowed us to identify the budget officers' decision-making in the public sector budgeting process by creating and analyzing primary data with regression models.FindingsWe found that budget officers suppress budget amounts based on non-financial information of good performances. Under fiscal constraints, officers further reduce budget amounts using information on high accrual-based costs and poor non-financial performance.Originality/valueOur survey-based field experiment allowed us to obtain primary data from officers making budget decisions. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence that non-financial good and poor performance information and accrual-based cost information affect budget officers' decision-making under financial constrain.

Does local autonomy facilitate local government reform initiatives? Evidence from Switzerland

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 426-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Keuffer
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Local Autonomy ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Reform Initiatives ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Structural Problems

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the initiatives of local governments to launch modernisation processes are facilitated by local autonomy, which is increasingly important in both the theory and practice of public policy and management. Design/methodology/approach Local government reforms are distinguished according to the institutional structure at which they are directed and local autonomy is assessed as a multidimensional concept. Drawing on a multilevel analysis of the Swiss case, this paper combines data stemming from a survey conducted at the local tier with secondary data from the regional tier. Findings The main empirical findings are threefold. First, when local governments undertake managerial or political reform initiatives, their autonomy with respect to higher levels of government matters. Second, it is not local autonomy but rather the perception of structural problems that is the force driving territorial reforms. Third, it is not the autonomy enjoyed by local governments vis-à-vis local factors, but rather the pressures stemming from that context that may lead to reforms. Originality/value By adopting a comparative approach to local autonomy, this paper shows that local governments which have sufficient latitude for local policy making are likely to take initiatives to improve service delivery in accordance with local preferences.

Effective performance management of local governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-45
Author(s):  
Altamash Janjua ◽  
Farrukh Attique ◽  
Adil Raza ◽  
Waqar Akbar
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ◽  
Effective Performance ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Effective performance management of local governments is essential for efficient service delivery to the citizens. This is especially true for developing countries where performance management of public sector is severely lacking. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a pioneering and effective performance management framework that has been implemented in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The paper outlines the design and implementation of the system in light of relevant research work. Latest digital technologies including smartphone applications and social media have been used to make the system effective and responsive to the needs of the citizens and sustainable in the long term. Findings The impact of the system includes a drastic reduction in polio infection cases by 90 percent in the province and the successful completion of one of the biggest afforestation campaigns in the world in recent years. In addition, noteworthy improvements in public health, education and municipal services have also been achieved through this system in a province that has a population of 30.5 m. Research limitations/implications The paper uses field data to highlight the positive impact of the system which has been operational for more than two years now. Practical implications The strong positive impact of the system supports the case for implementation of similar public sector reforms in other developing countries. Social implications The implementation of the system has resulted in significant improvements in social sector service delivery. Originality/value There is very limited literature available on successful performance management reforms in the public sector of the developing world. Therefore, this case study can be a very important resource.

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