Foreword: Modernisation in the Public Sector

Abstract

This special issue of FAM is about the contribution of accounting to the modernisation of the public sector. The following three principles are crucial to the UK modernisation programme: a free choice for citizens, simplicity and responsiveness of the public system and delivery of value for money. As will become clear from this special issue of FAM, the concept of modernisation is controversial. On the one hand, modernisation refers to progress and improvement, but these constructs are – at least to some extent – value-laden. On the other hand, modernisation of the public sector seems to be intertwined with the introduction of technologies and practices commonly used in the private sector. Then modernisation is strongly related to the adoption of business-like management and accounting instruments, often denoted as New Public Management. It may even be that modernisation is just a euphemism for the public sector’s wish to look alike the private sector, or a New Labour’s adage for slightly changing but basically continuing the Conservative agenda to restructure government. A main question to be addressed is to what extent and in what way modernisation will lead to (management) accounting innovations, or is it the other way around: are certain accounting innovations enablers for modernisation? A related question refers to the effectiveness of newly developed accounting techniques within a public sector context. Four of the five papers in this special issue directly relate to modernisation. Three, particularly, are concerned with devolution as a main strand of modernisation, but each with a different viewpoint. Arthur Midwinter analyses the budgeting of the Scottish parliament under devolution. On the one hand, budgetary scrutiny has been improved in comparison with the pre-devolution stage, implying that the parliament can dispose of better financial and performance information and its role in the consultation process about the Executive’s budgets has been strengthened. On the other hand, outcome-oriented budgeting is only limitedly implemented, whereas performance information does not play any role in budgetary choices between programmes. Midwinter relates the latter findings to unrealistic assumptions about what modernisation is supposed to achieve.