Forecasting and reporting performance: the search for the holy grail?

Abstract

More than 500 public entities in New Zealand are required to publicly report prospective and actual performance information. Most of the requirements have been in place for more than 15 years, their origins lying in the public sector reforms of the 1980s. There is strong theoretical logic supporting the usefulness of publicly disclosed performance information, with disclosure of non-financial performance information a growing phenomenon internationally. Indeed, last year I attended an international gathering of auditors-general at which it was clear that the demand for such information is growing.