Back to basics: fighting fraud and austerity

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-227
Author(s):  
Kwabena Frimpong
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Financial Crime ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Reference Guide ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Resource Capacity

Purpose – This article aims to focus on the impact of the current austerity measures on UK public sector anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource capacity building initiative developed over the years to tackle fraud against the public purse. Design/methodology/approach – The article draws on secondary sources of data and available literature on fraud and financial crime. Findings – Fraud is a challenge in the UK public sector but the cut-back on anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resources, given the scale of public sector fraud, the growing emphasis on accountability and the time of austerity with public money more exposed to fraud is arguably a back-door/u-turn policy on zero-tolerance approach in tackling public sector fraud and financial crime. There is the potential of this encouraging more fraud and financial crime against the public sector in the long term if measures are not taken to devise strategies for enhancing anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource capacity. Research limitations/implications – The research implication for this article is that it opens an avenue for future studies to examine post austerity strategies for strengthening public sector anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource strategies to deal with emerging fraud threats to UK public sector. Practical implications – This article acts as a reference guide for policymakers to reflect on the long-term adverse impact of the austerity on anti-fraud and financial crime investigative resource capacity and capability in tackling fraud public sector fraud. Originality/value – The paper attempts to present an alternative lens to examining the scale of UK public sector fraud problem rather than relying on headline story of declining fraud in UK.

Research from China finds no significant difference in impact of public service motivation (PSM) in public and private sectors

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Intention To Leave ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The authors assumed PSM would be higher in the public sector, but they set up a trial to find out if this was the case. Design/methodology/approach To test their theories, the authors conducted two independent surveys. The first consisted of 220 usable responses from public sector employees in Changsha, China. The second survey involved 260 usable responses from private sector employees taking an MBA course at a university in the Changsha district. A questionnaire was used to assess attitudes. Findings The results found no significant difference between the impact of public sector motivation (PSM) on employee performance across the public and private sectors. The data showed that PSM had a significant impact on self-reported employee performance, but the relationship did not differ much between sectors. Meanwhile, it was in the private sector that PSM had the greatest impact on intention to leave. Originality/value The authors said the research project was one of the first to test if the concept of PSM operated in the same way across sectors. It also contributed, they said, to the ongoing debate about PSM in China.

scholarly journals Economic cost of congenital CMV in the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 559-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Retzler ◽  
Nick Hex ◽  
Chris Bartlett ◽  
Anne Webb ◽  
Sharon Wood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Cost Model ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk

ObjectiveCongenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the most common infectious cause of congenital disability. It can disrupt neurodevelopment, causing lifelong impairments including sensorineural hearing loss and developmental delay. This study aimed, for the first time, to estimate the annual economic burden of managing cCMV and its sequelae in the UK.DesignThe study collated available secondary data to develop a static cost model.SettingThe model aimed to estimate costs of cCMV in the UK for the year 2016.PatientsIndividuals of all ages with cCMV.Main outcome measuresDirect (incurred by the public sector) and indirect (incurred personally or by society) costs associated with management of cCMV and its sequelae.ResultsThe model estimated that the total cost of cCMV to the UK in 2016 was £732 million (lower and upper estimates were between £495 and £942 million). Approximately 40% of the costs were directly incurred by the public sector, with the remaining 60% being indirect costs, including lost productivity. Long-term impairments caused by the virus had a higher financial burden than the acute management of cCMV.ConclusionsThe cost of cCMV is substantial, predominantly stemming from long-term impairments. Costs should be compared against investment in educational strategies and vaccine development programmes that aim to prevent virus transmission, as well as the value of introducing universal screening for cCMV to both increase detection of children who would benefit from treatment, and to build a more robust evidence base for future research.

scholarly journals The Living Wage: An Economic Geography Based Explanation for a Policy for Equality

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-605 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo J. Morelli ◽  
Paul T. Seaman
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Living Wage ◽  
Labour Force Survey ◽  
The Public ◽  
Household Inequality ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Wage Demand ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Low Pay

This article examines the theoretical underpinning of living wage campaigns. The article uses evidence, derived from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey from 2005 to 2008, to examine the extent to which a living wage will address low pay within the labour force. We highlight the greater incidence of low pay within the private sector and then focus upon the public sector where the living wage demand has had most impact. The article builds upon the results from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey with analysis of the British Household Panel Survey in 2007 in order to examine the impact that the introduction of a living wage, within the public sector, would have in reducing household inequality.

Afghan aid flows will resume, bypassing the Taliban

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Female Employment ◽  
Service Members ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Security Service ◽  
Wage Payment

Significance The Taliban government has allowed UN agencies to start paying salaries directly to teachers and healthcare workers. It initially stalled on this, but has now conceded for fear of losing legitimacy if it fails to address the looming crisis. Impacts Western concerns about reprisal killings of former security service members will further complicate relations with the Taliban. The public-sector wage payment scheme established by UN agencies may become the norm for many years. Taliban restrictions on female employment will have long-term economic impacts but will fall down the list of Western priority concerns.

Accounting for gaming in the time of plague: COVID-19 in Macau

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Noronha ◽  
Jieqi Guan ◽  
Sandy Hou In Sio
Keyword(s):  
Critical Event ◽  
Gaming Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Account ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose While the COVID-19 virus has been spreading worldwide, some studies have related the pandemic with various aspects of accounting and therefore emphasized the importance of accounting research in understanding the impact of COVID-19 on society as a whole. Recent studies have looked into such an impact on various industries such as retail and agriculture. The current study aims at applying a sociological framework, sociology of worth (SOW), to the gaming industry in Macau, the largest operator of state-allowed gambling and entertainment in China, which will allow for its development during the COVID-19 pandemic to be charted. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the theory of SOW as a framework and collects data from various sources, such as the government, gaming operators and the public, to create timelines and SOW frameworks to analyze the impact of the virus on the gaming industry and the society as a whole. Findings Detailed content analysis and the creation of different SOW matrices determined that the notion of a “lonely economy” during a time of a critical event may be ameliorated in the long term through compromises of the different worlds and actors of the SOW. Practical implications Though largely theory-based, this study offers a thorough account of the COVID-19 incident for both the government and the gaming industry to reflect on and to consider new ways to fight against degrowth caused by disasters or crises. Social implications The SOW framework divides society into different worlds of different worths. The current study shows how the worths of the different worlds are congruent during normal periods, and how cracks appear between them when a sudden crisis, such as COVID-19, occurs. The article serves as a social account of how these cracks are formed and how could they be resolved through compromise and reconstruction. Originality/value This study is a first attempt to apply SOW to a controversial industry (gaming) while the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are ongoing. It offers a significant contribution to the social accounting literature through its consideration of the combination of unprecedented factors in a well-timed study that pays close attention to analyses and theoretical elaboration.

Lucky or privileged? Working with memory and reflexivity

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Trimingham Jack
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Boarding School ◽  
School Experience ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Educational History ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Through a case study of the decision making that led to the writer becoming a teacher educator, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to historiography by exploring the complex process of surfacing and interpreting memory. Design/methodology/approach The methodology draws on the concepts of autobiographical memory and reflexivity, together with documentary and archival sources including newspapers and secondary sources. Findings The outcome reveals that the process of memory is complex. It illustrates that allowing the participant a wide scope to work with pivotal memories, which may include those referring to material objects, may lead to unexpected and compelling explanations that have the power to change thinking in regards to related aspects of educational history. In this particular case, the findings reveal the long-term impact of boarding school experience. Originality/value The paper expands the way in which educational historians may think about undertaking interviews by illustrating the need for investment of time and close attention to all memories, some of which may at first seem to be irrelevant. Additionally, while a significant amount of research had been published on the long-term impact of boarding school experience on students in the UK, a little critical historical work has been undertaken in regards to the Australian experience – this paper offers a unique contribution to the undertaking of that project.

scholarly journals The tangled web of mobile telecommunication mergers: Hutchison Whampoa, Telefónica and BT

Info ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Curwen ◽  
Jason Whalley
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Data ◽  
Mobile Telecommunication ◽  
Mobile Telecommunications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Corporate Strategies ◽  
Telecommunication Companies ◽  
Telecommunications Market ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate how consolidation within Europe’s mobile telecommunication markets requires willing buyers and sellers. Design/methodology/approach – After highlighting the resurgence in merger and acquisition (M & A) activity in mobile telecommunications, the paper draws on a variety of secondary sources to analyse the strategies of three companies. Findings – The paper highlights the interwoven nature of the strategies of three companies: BT, Hutchison Whampoa and Telefónica. BT has returned to the mobile telecommunications market in the UK, with the company it did not acquire being purchased by Hutchison. As Hutchison implements a “double or quits” strategy in Europe, it has acquired operations from Telefónica, which, in turn, has exited most of its non-Spanish European operations to focus on Latin America. Research limitations/implications – The paper relies on secondary data and thus highlights the challenges of doing so and the need for more information regarding M & As to be in the public domain. Practical implications – There is a need to adopt a sector-wide or regional approach for analysing the strategies of telecommunication companies. Originality/value – The paper uniquely provides an overview of three corporate strategies to show how they interact with one another.

scholarly journals The purposes, promises and compromises of extinction accounting in the UK public sector

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 875-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Weir
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Species Loss ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Corporate Context ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Ecological Criteria ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the state of extinction accounting, and the motivations for its use in the UK public sector. Prior studies are mostly concerned with corporate attempts to account for species, despite studies in related areas calling for examinations of the public sector context. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyses the use of extinction accounting in three separate case organisations, conducting a total of 21 interviews across the three cases. Interviews were conducted with a range of organisational participants each having experience with extinction accounting. Findings Interviews reveal a number of common uses and applications of extinction accounting across the three councils. Practices are used to generate reports on species loss and recovery within each region, and to facilitate planning for species protection and recovery. However, in attempting to use this information, key trade-offs emerge between satisfying economic and ecological criteria, and even trade-offs are created regarding development of protection schemes. This leads to a subversion of extinction accounting. Research limitations/implications Commensurate with prior studies in the corporate context, the study finds the presence of an economic logic impinging upon ecological decision making, suggesting that practices of extinction accounting may be affected by the same acknowledged economic motivations that reside in corporate attempts to account for nature. Originality/value The paper makes an important contribution by evaluating the public sector context of extinction accounting, which is lacking in existing research. The findings relating to the public sector use of species and extinction information also provide a useful context to understand how relatively new social and environmental accounting practices are deployed in organisations, as well as some indication of their effectiveness and limitations.

Corporate portfolio management in the public sector

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-340
Author(s):  
Saša Baškarada ◽  
Brian Hanlon
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Portfolio Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Business Units ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Public Sector Organizations ◽  
The Impact

PurposeAlthough corporate portfolio management (CPM) has been a popular tool for strategic management of multi-business portfolios in the private sector since the late 1960s, it has received limited attention in the public sector. Accordingly, empirical research on the use of CMP in government organizations is virtually non-existent. The purpose of this paper is to partially fill that gap in the literature by highlighting and discussing some of the key points that public sector organizations may need to consider when adopting CPM.Design/methodology/approachRather than deductively proposing and testing narrowly specified hypotheses, this study aims to answer a broad research question, namely: What are the key points that public sector organizations may need to consider when adopting CMP? Hence, the study adopts the qualitative interpretive research paradigm. The findings are based on empirical research conducted in a large Australian publicly funded research organization. Potential application of CPM was iteratively and incrementally explored with a reference group comprising 15 middle management representatives and several members of the senior leadership group over the course of one year.FindingsAssessment criteria traditionally used in CPM (e.g. growth potential and market share) are generally not applicable in public sector organizations. This paper suggests that government organizations should instead consider past performance and future potential of individual business units, which may be operationalized via capability (a function of human capital and associated resources/infrastructure) and delivery (a function of the demand for, and the impact of, relevant business units). The paper also highlights the importance of organization-wide consultation, evidence-based decision making, and contestability.Originality/valueFrom a practical perspective, the paper may assist public sector organizations with adapting and applying CPM. From a theoretical perspective, the paper highlights an important and relatively neglected research problem, and suggests several avenues for future research.

Metrics, Targets and Performance

2006 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 80-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Andrew Stevens ◽  
Lucy Stokes ◽  
Mary O'Mahony
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Acute Hospital ◽  
Performance Management System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Productivity Measure ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Uk

The setting and use of targets in the public sector has generated a growing amount of interest in the UK. This has occurred at a time when more analysts and policymakers are grasping the nettle of measuring performance in and of the public sector. We outline a typology of performance indicators and a set of desiderata. We compare the outcome of a performance management system — star ratings for acute hospital trusts in England — with a productivity measure analogous to those used in the analysis of the private sector. We find that the two are almost entirely unrelated. Although this may be the case for entirely proper reasons, it does raise questions as to the appropriateness of such indicators of performance, particularly over the long term.

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