Management Accounting in Public Service Decision Making

Radical changes to public service delivery have swept across many regions of the world. Management accounting methods are vital to support operational and strategic decision making in public services internationally. This book provides a comprehensive and “leading-edge” guide to the topic. Written by an expert scholar with practical experience of public service delivery, the book takes account of key trends such as increased demand for public services, financial austerity, technological change and enhanced performance management. A globally relevant book, informed by cutting edge academic research and benefitting from integrated case studies, this is essential reading for both students and practitioners involved with the financial aspects of public services management.

About the author Foreword Preface List of figures List of tables List of case studies List of abbreviations PART A: Context of management accounting in public services Public service organisations and the public sector Introduction What are public services? What are the distinctive features of public services? Challenges facing public services; Aims and structure of the book Operations management of public services Introduction Aspects of public service operations Operations management activities in public services Relevance of management accounting The importance of strategy in public services Introduction The nature of strategic management Strategic change in public services The strategic management process in public services Management accounting and strategic decision making Public service reforms Introduction Why does public service reform take place? What are the objectives of public service reform? What constitutes public service reform? Success and failure in public service reform What role should management accounting play in public service reform? Leadership, management and decision making in public services Leadership and management in public services Decision making in public services The role of management accounting The relevance of management accounting in public services Introduction The nature and purpose of management accounting The modern roles of management accounting in relation to public services Behavioural aspects of management accounting Financial analysis and economic analysis in public services – the distinction The management accounting in modern public services The factors that drive the configuration of management accounting in public service organisations? PART B: Management accounting practice in public services Costing and cost information for decision making in public services Introduction How cost information can be used to manage public services Approaches to the classification of costs Costing systems and cost models in public services Identifying and estimating costs in public services Difficulties and complexities of costing in modern public services Developing costing systems in public services Management accounting and operational/tactical decision making in public services Introduction Operational and strategic decision making: The distinction Operational decision making in public services Management accounting methods Management accounting and public service strategy Introduction Cost and income benchmarking Strategic capital investment appraisal Strategic cost improvement Programme/client group analysis and budgeting Strategic options analysis Pricing strategies Strategic financial forecasting Decision support models Strategic financial leadership Management accounting and management control in public services Introduction Key management tasks The nature and purpose of management control Operational/tactical management control Cash and working capital control and management Budgeting systems and budgetary control in public service management Strategic management control Management accounting and performance management/improvement in public services Introduction The nature of performance in public services Systems of performance management Using performance information Improving performance The management accounting contribution Management accounting and risk management in public services Introduction The distinction between risk and uncertainty Risk and risk management in public service organisations Risk management frameworks in public services The importance of organisational resilience Management accounting in an environment of risk and uncertainty Contemporary aspects of management accounting in public services Modern costing developments Inter-organisational cost management (IOCM) Environmental management accounting (EMA) Management accounting and modern operational processes Technology and management accounting References Index

Malcolm J. Prowle is currently a professor at the Gloucestershire Business School who has extensive experience of public services finance, in the UK and overseas.