Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how participatory budgeting (PB), as a form of dialogic accounting, is produced in practice. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative case study of PB development for the period 2013-2016 in one Russian municipality. Based on triangulation of in-depth semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis, videotape data and netnographic observation, the authors employ ideas of dialogic accounting and institutional work. Findings The study shows that the PB experiment, which began with dialogic rhetoric, in reality, had very limited dialogic effects. However, the authors also observed that the PB dynamics over time made the practice neither inherently monologic nor dialogic. The authors explained such transformations by the way in which the individual reflexivity of actors altered when carrying out institutional work. Curiosity reflexivity was the most essential, triggering different patterns of institutional work to set up the PB experiment. However, further, the authors demonstrated that, over the course of the experiment's development, the institutional work was trapped by various actors' individual reflexivity forms and in this way limited PB's dialogic potential. Originality/value The study shows the importance of understanding and managing individuals' reflexivity, as it shapes the institutional work performed by different actors and, therefore, influences the direction of both the design and materialization of dialogic accounting experiments such as PB. In a broader sense, this also influences the way in which democratic governance is developed, losing democratization potential.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight and compare insights from research conducted in different disciplines on the effects of the use of calculative practices in academia. It also acts as an introduction to the special issue on “governing by numbers: audit culture and contemporary tales of universities’ accountability”.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviews the findings and reflections provided in academic literature on the various types of consequences stemming from the diffusion of the “audit culture” in academia. In so doing, it draws upon insights from previous literature in education, management and accounting, and other papers included in this special issue of Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management.

Findings

The literature review shows that a growing number of studies are focussing on the hybridization of universities, not only in terms of calculative practices (e.g. performance indicators) but also in relation to individual actors (e.g. academics and managers) who may have divergent values, and thus, act according to multiple logics (business and academic logics). It highlights many areas in which further robust academic research is needed to guide policy and practice developments in universities.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides academics, regulators and decision-makers with relevant insights into the critical issues of using calculative practices in academia. Despite the negative effects have been observed in various disciplines, there is an evident perpetuation in the use of those practices.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the ongoing debates on the disillusion of calculative practices in academia. Yet, positive changes can be achieved within the complex settings of “hybrid” universities when the apparent class division between academics and managers is bridged.

In recent years, the local government sector in European countries has undergone important changes involving, among other things, the externalisation of local public service provision through various forms of corporatisation, public-public collaboration, public-private partnerships and contracting out. An important consequence of these institutional changes has been the recasting of local governance systems through the need for increased cooperation between public and private actors. This article addresses these matters with comparative reference to the experience in Italy and Sweden. In doing so, it considers local governments in their constitutional and legal contexts, leading to more detailed discussions of their externalisation initiatives and resultant organisational forms and governance arrangements. Issues of ownership have been important concerning the significance of 'community' and 'place' in the management of public affairs.

In this paper the challenges imposed on corporate governance of water services in Italy and Sweden are analyzed and compared. From the comparative analysis we notice that with externalization of services more stakeholders become involved in the provision of the services. These stakeholders have common as well as divergent interests and the challenges thus become to find an alignment of interest among stakeholders in order to secure a sustainable provision of the services. The comparative analysis indicate that such alignment is especially difficult when stakeholders have heterogeneous background (public and private sector).

The growing development of decentralized entities has highlighted the limitations f the traditional annual reports of governments, which do not necessarily capture he financial consequences of subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates. There s a growing tendency to consider consolidated financial statements as essential o support decision-making processes and to ensure higher public accountability. his paper seeks to understand and to explain how the Swiss Federal Government as prepared its consolidated financial statements for the three fiscal years 009–2011.

This article investigates the importance of mergers in the public sector , analysing the case of T oscana Energia—a gas supplier in Italy. T oscana Energia was formed by merging three entities. There was no improvement in financial performance after the merger. Realistic merger benefits include competitive gains and, in this case, a better deal for consumers. P oliticians under pressure to merge should insist on the public sector being the majority owner in utilities. The best merger outcomes are of smaller municipal enterprises.

Organisational changes of the public sector have led to increased decentralisation of public services. Only fully fledged financial accounting and reporting systems guarantee the consolidated information needed by executive and legislative bodies to fulfil their duties in financial management and the supervision of network entities. Consolidated financial statements may serve to increase accountability and transparency towards internal and external stakeholders. The article aims at giving an overview of consolidation approaches in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. It will focus on the methods applied and the guiding principles followed to define the perimeter of consolidation. The analysis is carried out through a comparison of legal requirements and standards for consolidation, and the published consolidated financial statements, taking the International Public Sector Accounting Standards as a benchmark. Points for practitioners The analysis of consolidation practice in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries reveals that while the use of consolidated financial statements is increasing, there are still significant deviations from the perspective of international accounting standards. The results show that the equity method plays a crucial role as it is used in a transition period to full consolidation and/or for organisations having major influence on the statements of financial position. These findings are of interest in the ongoing debate of international standard-setting in the field of consolidation, as well as for the discussion of European Public Sector Accounting Standards.

Les changements institutionnels survenus dans le secteur public se sont traduits par une decentralisation accrue des services publics. Seuls les veritables systemes de comptabilite generale et d’information comptable permettent de disposer a coup sur des informations consolidees dont ont besoin l’executif et le legislatif pour s’acquitter de leur mission dans la gestion financiere et la supervision des entites du reseau. Les comptes consolides (CC) peuvent contribuer a ameliorer l’imputabilite et la transparence vis- a-vis des parties prenantes internes et externes. Dans le present article, nous tentons de donner un apercu des methodes de consolidation utilisees dans les pays de l’OCDE. Nous nous interesserons aux methodes appliquees et aux principes directeurs qui sont appliques pour definir le perimetre de consolidation. Notre analyse se fonde sur une comparaison des exigences juridiques et des normes de consolidation, ainsi que sur les documents relatifs aux CC qui ont ete publies, en prenant pour reference les normes comptables internationales du secteur public (IPSAS).

As change sweeps across the public sector, a huge range of accounting and financial management challenges are created. This textbook analyses the reforms that are being introduced to deal with these challenges and their global impact on the public sector.

Readers are provided with an international overview of government accounting, reporting, management control, cost accounting, budgeting and auditing. In explaining how innovative financial management tools are utilized in the public sector, the authors address a number of emerging issues:

• Harmonization trends in public financial management and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs)
• Financial reporting and consolidated financial statements in the public sector
• Public sector management accounting and control methods
• Financial and performance auditing in the public sector

This concise and accessible textbook will be core reading for public sector accounting and financial management students and will also be required reading for students of public management and administration more generally. Managers, accountants, consultants and auditors working in the public sector will also find the book a useful reference.

The aim of this study is to investigate how multiple values in non-profit hybrid organisations influence the adoption of management accounting practices. The empirical analysis centres on hybrid organisations established as co-production and co-management initiatives in social care. Pragmatic constructivism, centred on the role of values, informs the empirical analysis. This research shows that management accounting practices can develop without conflicts when only some actors are interested in management and their values predominate, despite the coexistence of multiple and conflicting values. However, in this situation, where conflicts are eliminated, the validity of accounting is compromised, as it does not represent all values. The evidence of this lack of validity is clear when considering the poor development of management accounting practices and the inability to develop some relevant measures, such as outcome measures. When only some values predominate, the opportunity provided by the multiplicity of values to the development of management accounting practices is lost, and possible inefficiencies may emerge. The use of pragmatic constructivism shows that this lack of validity, determined by the non-integration of values, would be reduced by increasing the discussion among conflictingactors’ values. Findings suggest that the presence of conflicting values, that at first glance may be interpreted as an impediment, would, on the contrary, be useful to support accounting validity, when stimulating discussion. In this respect, conflicting values should work alongside communication, to include dimensions of reality.

The influence of external factors on local government finances, particularly bankruptcies, is much debated. This paper investigates the relationship between regional socioeconomic features and those Italian municipalities that have been declared ?financially destabilized? (i.e. bankrupt). Statistical evidence confirms that municipalities located in regions with particular socioeconomic features are less exposed to financial destabilization. An early model that attempts to predict local fiscal stress is presented.

The purpose of this editorial paper is to introduce the special issue and outline its majorthemes. This special issue of Accounting Forum aims to stimulate interdisciplinary and critical research on public sector reforms, particularly in the context of Public Private Partnerships and other public sector organisations. The editorial also seeks to provide a research agenda and new directions for more research in the field, considering the ambiguities of this hybrid organisational forms and the complexity of accounting and accountability reforms.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review previous research on public appointments to systematize existing knowledge, identify gaps and discuss implications for future research in this field.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a systematic literature review, carried out using the Scopus database. We selected academic articles published in journals ranked in the 2018 CABS Academic Journal Guide plus public administration articles in journals classified by Google as falling within the areas of public policy and administration. The papers were analysed according to four categories: geographical area, theoretical framework, research method and organizational setting.

Findings – Results show the lack of research regarding areas like Latin America or East Asia; from a theoretical viewpoint, given the lack of explicit theoretical approaches, future research should have more formal and clear theoretical frameworks. Moreover, given the dominance of case study and review/reflectionstudies, alternative research methods, such as surveys or mixed methods are suggested for future works.

Research limitations/implications – We identify a new research agenda to revive the focus on public appointments as a tool for intra- and inter-organizational governance in the public sector. Specifically, we argue that how the process of public appointments is managed has huge democratic implications, and publicmanagers have a key role to play in that respect by designing effective governance systems and organizational procedures. The selection of papers has been limited to articles published in peer- review journals ranked in the 2018 CABS Guide; no distinctions have been made regarding journals’ positioning in the ranking. Moreover,this work takes a managerial and organizational approach, while the research on public appointments is clearly interdisciplinary, with previous contributions coming mainly from political scientists.

Originality/value – Despite the relevant body of literature on this topic, this study represents the first manuscript to summarize the state of the art of this theme, providing a research agenda on this very relevantbut quite neglected issue in public governance.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to facilitate a deeper understanding of the uses and users of performance measurement (PM) in the university context. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data were gathered from four universities. This approach allows for a multilevel and comparative analysis based on the neo-institutional theory. The results are discussed alongside interdisciplinary literature on the use of PM in the public sector. Findings PM practices at universities have become increasingly popular on institutional, organisational and individual levels. The results indicate that different types of PM are used in universities and that the extent, and scope of PM used by various actors differ. Universities often use PM in a ceremonial and symbolic manner, with the aim of legitimising themselves externally as research-oriented institutions. The use of PM depends on both, exogenous factors (such as isomorphic pressures) and endogenous factors related to the different responses of organisations and individual actors (university managers, and academics). However, the analysis at the internal level reveals different attitudes and some resistance to the use of such kinds of PM. In universities with a local focus, the use of PM for rational decision-making is generally loosely coupled with the reporting performance for external accountability purposes. Moreover, the internal use of PM can be also symbolic. Originality/value The authors assume that the use of PM depends on a number of exogenous and endogenous factors. PM uses and users are discussed in the specific context of the higher education system in Poland. The four business school cases facilitate a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences in terms of the uses and users of PM in the context of internationally and locally oriented universities.

This work proposes to examine the governance structure of public-private corporations that manage local utilities (water, energy and multi-utility) in Italy. The objective is the verification, from a qualitative point of view, that the governance structure adequately guarantees the reconciliation of interests of different categories of shareholders (public and private), as local public service corporations increases their own shareholding basis by involving financial and industrial shareholders who bring with them both financial and industrial interests. The work shows that the corporate governance structure is one important tool in the end of the public owner in order to steer and control the public and private corporations.

The five articles in this symposium examine the issues of comparative performance management and accountability in the age of austerity from different vantage points. Brusca and Montesinos carry out an international comparison of 17 countries studying key issues in the implementation of performance reporting by local governments. Using multicountry survey data, Wynen and Verhoest provide an understanding of the effect of organizational autonomy and external result control on the use of internal performance-based steering toward lower hierarchical levels in public sector organizations. Bj?rnholt, Bækgaard and Houlberg study the link between fiscal austerity and politicians? use of performance information by using survey and documentary data from Danish municipalities. Grossi, Reichard, and Ruggiero examine the interest of politicians and public managers in the use of performance information for decision-making and monitoring the budget cycle provided in the newly established performance budgets of municipalities in Germany and Italy. Poocharoen and Wong examine performance management in different types of interagency collaborations, presenting six case studies of management projects in the field of natural resources. Taken together, these articles deepen our understanding of the fundamental and continuing shift toward use of performance measures in the public sector in the period of austerity, with both internal and external uses of performance information.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize insights from previous accounting, performance measurement (PM) and accountability research into the rapidly emerging field of knowledge-intensive public organizations (KIPOs). In so doing, it draws upon insights from previous literature and other papers included in this special issue of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews academic analysis and insights provided in the academic literature on accounting, PM and accountability changes in KIPOs, such as universities and healthcare organizations, and paves the way for future research in this area.

Findings

The literature review shows that a growing number of studies are focusing on the hybridization of different KIPOs, not only in terms of accounting tools (e.g. performance indicators, budgeting and reporting) but also in relation to individual actors (e.g. professionals and managers) that may have divergent values and thus act according to multiple logics. It highlights many areas in which further robust academic research is needed to guide developments of hybrid organizations in policy and practice.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides academics, regulators and decision makers with relevant insights into issues and aspects of accounting, PM and accountability in hybrid organizations that need further theoretical development and empirical evidence to help inform improvements in policy and practice.

Originality/value

The paper provides the growing number of academic researchers in this emerging area with a literature review and agenda upon which they can build their research.

This chapter addresses the various institutional arrangements for the delivery of local public services in France, Germany and Italy. It has a comparative focus but provides an analysis of how the different institutional variants of service provision have developed over time. In particular, it examines what new arrangements have been adopted and what effects may be expected for municipal governance. The chapter is intended to offer a critical analysis of the overall structures and trends rather than an analysis based on sectoral developments (e.g. water or social care). These may be found in other chapters of the book. With regard to the broad portfolio of local services, our intention is to concentrate on services usually provided by local utilities and which are mostly traded on (regulated) markets (in EU terminology: services of general economic interest), for example infrastructure services and basic services such as water, energy and transport. The chapter is organized as follows. It begins with an overview of institutional patterns in the three countries under study. We make a comparative analysis focusing on corporatization, that is, on the ongoing process of transforming local government units into (semi-)autonomous corporations, most with independent legal status and enjoying considerable managerial freedom. We also identify similarities and differences in patterns of service delivery.

Consolidated Financial Statements (CFSs) in the public sector represent useful financial tools to improve transparency and accountability toward internal and external users. This aggregate view is only a part of the information needed in order to give politicians, managers, employees, financial institutions, rating agencies, and citizens a whole view of a local government’s financial performance. It emerges the need to have segment information, covering specific policy areas for which it is appropriate to separately report financial and non-financial information. This paper, after having discussed the need for accountability and decision-making in a theoretical framework, gives account of a pilot project realized by the municipality of Reggio Emilia, which introduced CFSs and segment reporting. The empirical study is based on an action research as a methodological approach to solving practical problems. Finally, the paper also offers some practical suggestions to contribute to the applicability of the segment reporting in the public sector.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue and outline its major themes and challenges, their relevance and the research opportunities the field presents. Design/methodology/approach - The paper reviews prior literature and outline's the need to analyse challenges for corporate governance and accountability of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as a precursor to introducing the contributions to this special issue. Findings - Corporate governance, accounting and accountability of SOEs are crucial and growing topics in public management and other research disciplines. Public service provision and budget consolidation cannot be realized effectively and efficiently without powerful governance and management of SOEs. However there are significant corporate governance challenges and important empirical research gaps in comparison to other fields. Broader theoretical perspectives, methodological approaches, accountability mechanisms and sector/context are identified and discussed and encouraged in future research. Research limitations/implications - This paper aims to stimulate interdisciplinary research on emerging issues affecting governance and accountability of SOEs considering their growing importance in the society and their changing nature. Practical implications - Effective mechanisms and good practices may contribute to better performance of SOEs. Findings may help politicians, administrations, board members, auditors, consultants, scholars and the media striving for improvements around the world. Originality/value - The paper condenses theoretical and empirical findings to highlight the relevance of this field and important research gaps. The special issue offers an empirical examination of interdisciplinary literature and innovative experiences of SOEs to strengthen public service motivation, board composition and roles, trust and control, transparency, public value and to enhance the ability to manage, steer and monitor contracts, performance and relationships.

This article analyses consolidated annual accounts in the public sector in six countries (Sweden, the UK, the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia) highlighting the differences and similarities in approaches. The authors also examine international trends and take an in-depth look at the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB).

This paper focuses on corruption in public procurement. It describes the contemporary face of corruption by investigating the role of public accountability in the fight against corruption. The paper describes a specific episode of corruption relative to the awarding of government contracts for big events, such as the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Italian unification. Relying on the philosophical insights of Rousseau, Popper, Kant and others, the study suggests the need for enabling a democratic control and constructing a public ethics for the common good.

The paper mainly examines the governance strategies in the Municipal Corporate Groups (MCGs) from the public owner and contractor standpoint of view in order to find similarities and differences between Italy and Germany. The first part presents some theoretical considerations about corporate governance in the public sector (definition, principles, main characteristics and the impacts on MCGs). The second part presents the reasons of governance changes in two Italian and German Cities: one city with an internal group control unit and one city with an external solution (separate holding company). After an analysis and discussion of the comparatives research findings (in term of similarities and differences) in the two Countries in third section, the paper ends with a summary and some conclusions.

This chapter presents the different options of institutional choice for the delivery of local utility services like water, waste, energy or transport in selected European countries. The authors concentrate empirically on three major options: provision by a municipally owned corporation, by a public-private partnership and by a private corporation to which the service is contracted out. Furthermore, some trends of development over time are presented. In all countries under review, a remarkable proportion of utility services is still allocated to autonomous municipal enterprises. Private enterprises, however, are also strongly involved in local services: as co-owners and partners of municipal corporations with mixed ownership and as providers of outsourced services. Finally, the authors discuss several explanations of the emerging patterns and changes in the institutional landscape.

This article contributes to the debate on the use of performance information in the context of public sector performance management. Based on case studies, the authors analyze the appropriateness of the performance information provided in the newly established performance budgets of municipalities in Germany and Italy. They also examine the interest of politicians and senior managers in using such information for decision-making and monitoring within the municipal budget cycle. They find that the use of performance information is generally quite modest, and that the interest of different local actors varies to a great extent. Politicians are generally less interested in such information than top managers, particularly chief financial officers. The results are discussed by applying a theoretical framework based on institutional and legitimacy theories, and are compared with the literature on performance information use.

The article offers an overview of the modernization of the European Commission (EC) accounting system. It represents an integral part of an overall rationalization of the EC organizational, administrative and financial dimensions which has been carried out over the last decade. The reformed accounting system is a dual one: it is based both on cash accounting, to manage budget appropriations, and on accrual accounting, to draw up the financial statements. Seventeen accounting rules, which draw upon International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and are based on accrual accounting, were issued by the EC and are the foundation of this reformed system. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with Commission officials, this article tracks the key turning points, trajectories and outcomes of events within the implementation stage of this part of the EC accounting reform with a focus on the consolidation of annual accounts. The compilation of the consolidated financial statement (CFS) has become more complex. The original European Union (EU) organizational structure (Parliament, Council, Commission, Court of Justice and Court of Auditors) has broadened with the addition of agencies that were created during the early 1990s. Since 2005, these agencies have been included in the CFS of the EU, compiled according to IPSASs 6, 7 and 8. This article examines how the EU consolidation process has evolved over time and the drivers behind the reformed accounting systems and in particular the new consolidation approach, which is a result of the combination of the Continental and Anglo-Saxon governmental accounting approaches.

Purpose – The purpose of this viewpoint paper is to introduce the special issue and outline its major themes.

Design/methodology/approach – The public governance literature is described, and the necessity for analysing challenges for accountability and accounting in the public sector is elaborated upon, as a precursor to introducing the contributions to this special issue.

Findings – The public governance turn in public management and policy studies has often meant that accounting and accountability issues have been overlooked. This special issue reminds us that they are central in public governance and networks, and that accounting cannot be dismissed as only a “technical” issue since it is central in power relationships, building trust, ensuring transparency and improving decision making for both internal and external stakeholders.

Research limitations/implications – This special issue of Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management aims to stimulate qualitative research on how accounting and accountability are being shaped by the new public governance paradigm and, in turn, contribute to shaping it.

Practical implications – The articles included in this special issue focus on reforms and innovations that have been adopted based on the assumption that improving mechanisms of public governance and accountability will result in better public sector performance. The different aspects of governance and accounting changes will also be of interest to politicians, managers, citizens, and those who seek accountability from public sector organisations.

Originality/value – The paper offers a systematic empirical examination of the innovative experiences of different governments to strengthen transparency, openness and participation, and to enhance the capacity to manage, steer and monitor contracts, partnerships and relationships with private and public sector entities.

Private-sector accounting systems have often been heralded as superior to public-sector ones and suggested as solutions to the shortcomings of the latter. Our article aims at contributing to this debate by looking at the adoption of business-like practices where the public and private sectors intersect. Our analysis shows that the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs), strongly inspired by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), might not ensure the expected disclosure. Municipalities adopting IPSASs for preparing consolidated financial statement do not necessarily increase accountability because some relevant public service providers are not included in the reporting entities.

Municipal and local governments seem to use other entities to a larger extent to organise and co-ordinate their activities. Thus the need and demand for consolidated financial statements has been observed in several countries as well as by international standard-setters such as the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB). Sweden introduced consolidated financial statements in municipalities and local governments in the 1980s and is one of the few countries where consolidated financial statements for municipalities and local governments are fully implemented. The aim of this study is to analyse similarities and differences in the approach to consolidated financial statements in standards issued by the IPSASB and the Swedish Council for Municipal Accounting (SCMA). The analysis is based on data from documentary studies and interviews. The results show that the two standard-setters approach the problem of consolidation quite differently. While the IPSASB seems to emphasise decision-making, the SCMA accentuates accountability. As a result, the standard-setters come to different conclusions about such matters as concept of control, valuation and methods of consolidation.

Previous research on hybrid organizations has drawn attention to the accountability gap that is believed to emerge when the provision of public services is transferred to a hybrid organization. In this article we take our point of departure in that research and use a case study method to explore whether this gap can be bridged by existing corporate governance systems or if governance systems specially tailored to hybrid forms need to be developed. The result of the study shows that the process is equally important as the system in place. That is, it is not only the actual system but also how the system is implemented and used that affects the ability to bridge the accountability gap.Points for practitioners This article provides insight into how the hybrid form alters the relationship between citizens, elected politicians and organizations performing public services and, consequently, how the ability to secure accountability in public services changes. The results presented in the article provide politicians and managers in the public sector with knowledge regarding how, by focusing on organizational processes, relationships between stakeholders and performance evaluation can work with improving accountability in hybrid organizations. Further, the article stresses the need for performance evaluation to encompass not only financial aspects, but also the societal values of the public services performed by the hybrid organization.

The concept of smart city has been studied in a variety of forms and contexts. While previous studies highlight the extensive use of indicators of smartness, another stream of literature advocates the role of citizens in city transformations. In this viewpoint, we call for an extension of this dichotomous understanding and highlight the cross-sectoral collaborative nature of smart city; we also draw attention to the potential of smart city to generate multiple values for a range of stakeholders. We reflect on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for sustainable and smart cities developed by the United Nations (UN) as a possible measurement tool for these multiple values. Based on an analysis of the literature on smart cities and an overview of the UN documents, including a short illustration of the case of Moscow (Russia), we articulate concerns regarding the ability of these global tools to grasp the complex nature of smart city, as well as the contextual specifics of each case locally.

Resulting from the global economic crisis, high budget deficits and debt burden characterise many economies looking for an exit strategy from current fiscal unbalances. The government of Estonia, having pursued a conservative fiscal policy for over a decade, reacted to the economic recession with radical budget adjustments, the latter constituting approximately 9% of gross domestic product in 2009. Consequently, Estonia took its chance and qualified for the euro in 2011. This study examines the behaviour of the Estonian central government and the basis of its budget decisions when planning drastic cost reductions through the theoretical lens of cutback management. The foremost results reveal that the crisis pushed the government to establish a different institutional framework that facilitated fast and effective decision-making during the budget process. The savings proposals came from the Ministry of Finance; however, running a cash-basis line-item budgeting system in practice, the centre possessed only limited performance data for developing the proposals. Consequently, the long-term impacts of the budget adjustments had not been assessed and are as yet unknown. A further conclusion is that the current budgeting framework should be revised and replaced step by step with a more advanced approach.

Performance measurement (PM) is now common in Western universities. This is also the case in Finland, where a new funding scheme was implemented to ensure that quality was included in universities' PM. However, this paper shows that the quality indicators in use are, in practice, quantitative. The paper is based on a large survey and has implications for university PM systems in Finland and internationally.

Local governments are increasingly entering into partnerships with the private sector in the “externalization” of public service delivery. While the financial and non-financial interests of the partners involved may appear to be in opposition and potentially un-reconcilable, this is not always the case, especially where governance arrangements exist to align and balance the requirements of financial and non-financial performance. Such arrangements are analysed here with reference to Estonia’s largest water company with mixed public-private ownership. It has a business-like management that facilitates a combination of good non-financial performance (quality and affordability) and considerable financial performance (profitability.

Concerns regarding rising water and sewerage prices have generated a renewed interest in measuring and assessing water utility performance. An efficiency analysis can serve as a basis for price setting decisions. This article examines the influence of ownership structure and corporate size on the efficiency of Estonian water companies, and assesses the empirical efficiency gaps through the lens of corporate governance and natural monopoly theories. To assess efficiency and the influence of ownership and corporate size on efficiency, we use a Data Envelopment Analysis and truncated regression with maximum likelihood estimation as well as an ANOVA test. The study sample consists of 43 water utilities, serving more than 68% of the Estonian population. One main finding of the study reveals that ownership structure does not affect the efficiency of Estonian water utilities, while efficiency does increase with corporate size: large water utilities outperform small utilities. An additional conclusion is that the Estonian water sector is too fragmented.

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze and understand accountability and governance within joint ventures formed to provide public services that are facing increasing demands due to new and more extensive legal requirements and increasing demands from users regarding the type and quality of the services delivered. At the same time, as the demands are increasing, the financial situation in the public sector has in many counties become more difficult, and due to large number of retirements, there is a shortage of people with the right competences.