The quest for users\u2019 needs in public sector budgeting and reporting

Politicians as the representatives of citizens play a major role in the user groups of public sector accounting information. This role is also considered in this special issue with four empirical analyses of politicians as users in the focus. Thereby, three articles address the central government level and one the local government level. Hence, this special issue is also a response to a call of van Helden (2016) to study if and how politicians use accounting information and which strategies or support they seek in doing so

Features and drivers of citizen participation: Insights from participatory budgeting in three European cities

Participatory budgeting (PB) is a relatively novel approach to the allocation of funds which allows ordinary citizens to become directly involved in how local government money is spent. This study identifies and examines the features and drivers of PB that incentivize citizen participation and the co-production of public services. Our analysis takes a fresh approach by setting PB initiatives in an innovative frame combining a paradigm of ‘ideal’ types of PB and their diachronic constituent phases. The results provide insights for both scholars and policy makers on the key features and drivers of citizen participation through PB

Perceived usability of local government (LG) financial statements by local councillors: Comparative study of Finland and Germany

acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Citizen-centred design of participatory budgeting : A transnational study in the Baltic Sea Region

Among the success factors of participatory budgeting (PB), Barbera et al. (2016b) discuss responsiveness, in terms of “continuous attention to citizens’ needs” and the capacity to address collective needs. To date, there are diverse PB cases, that follow a managerial, more technocratic (less focused on citizens) logic, whereas others target radical democratic change or good governance improvement (focused on linking citizens with the public administration and enhancing transparency) (Bartocci et al. 2019; Cabannes and Lipietz 2018). This paper aims to identify contingency factors, such as national, local and individual factors that influence the design of PB. Thus, a comparative approach is sought by analysing the needs of citizens in 17 municipalities in six European countries along the Baltic Sea region from originally 20,000 persons via a joint questionnaire. Relying on non-parametric tests, this analysis aims to identify links between citizens’ satisfaction, knowledge and expectations of their own involvement in the PB design and how it should be used from their perspective. The contribution of the paper is a critical rethinking of the respective stages and content of the PB creation processes from the citizens’ point of view by highlighting which contingency factors drive citizens’ views on PB design stages.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Management control systems in innovation companies: A contingency theory study

Past research has traditionally argued that management control systems (MCS) may present a hindrance to corporate flexibility and creativity. The study’s overall research aim is to explore the contingency factors that influence the intensity of use of MCS in innovation companies. This thesis builds upon existing management control theory, mostly focused on R&D, product development and innovation settings, extended by field observations to identify factors that may influence the intensity of use of MCS categories in innovation companies. The objects of control paradigm, distinguishing between direct and indirect categories of control, is mobilized to test the consequent theoretical model of the impact of external, organisational and innovation related contingency factors on MCS.The model predicts mixed influences on two direct control categories, results control and action control, but stresses the importance of two indirect categories, personnel control and cultural control. Empirical evidence was then collected from a cross-sectional survey of 578 German enterprises in innovation clusters. Statistical analyses, applying partial least squares structural equation modeling using SmartPLS, identify several variables as influential factors for the use of MCS in innovation companies. The most important factors are environmental uncertainty and business strategy which were shown to have an impact on all of the control types. Additionally, decentralisation, ownership dispersion and firm size are responsible for a change in three of four MCS types. Other interesting findings are that an increase in innovation capability is not associated with a reduction in results and action control intensity, and is positively related to the application of personnel and cultural control. Furthermore, important sources of finance, venture capital and public funding, are both shown to be positively associated with the application of action control; whereas, contrary to expectation, venture capital is found to be negatively correlated with personnel control. Overall, the results indicate that direct control is as important as indirect control given specific contingency factors.This study synthesises the fragmented literature of MCS contingency research in innovative settings by developing an original contingency model. The thesis adds value by inferring particular forms of management control which may be appropriate in innovative company settings. Thereby, the study contributes to both contingency research and to the knowledge and understanding of management control in innovative settings. It can assist managers by identifying MCS categories that are typically associated with particular influential factors. Further, the study is valuable from a methodological perspective by developing and testing novel constructs for three MCS categories. Beyond the relevance of the results to management control researchers, innovation company managers and policy makers, they also imply avenues for further related investigation

Management Control in UK Innovation Companies

The management control systems (MCS) of innovative companies is a topic of ongoing relevance, as MCS are expected to encompass a broader set of instruments in innovative settings (Davila 2000). This study builds on Merchant and Van der Stede’s (2012) framework to investigate the extent of use of MCS in innovative companies. The study investigates direct forms of control, namely Results and Action Control, and indirect forms: Personnel and Cultural Control. The theoretical framework builds upon existing management control theory literature, mostly focused on R&D, product development and innovation settings, extended by field observations. Nine variables are identified as potentially influential factors for the use of MCS in innovation companies. We investigate the extent to which these innovation companies’ characteristics influence the intensity of use of the four MCS categories and their impact on company success. In addition we report the relationships between the company characteristics and 22 individual control instruments.Data from 78 UK based innovation companies were collected by online and postal surveys. We present detailed descriptive statistics on the usage of individual controls and their perceived contribution to innovation performance. The report concludes, inter alia, that individual Personnel and Cultural Controls are particularly effective in these companies. Action Controls, presumably constraining employee behaviour, are only of general importance for companies with a cost leadership strategy; the use of Action Controls, as currently practised, has a negative effect on overall company success. Results Controls are intensively used in innovation companies and their overall impact on company performance seems to be positive, but some individual instruments are less effective in terms of their contribution to innovation performance

European public sector accounting

Public sector accounting (PSA) and reporting was subject to considerable national reforms during the last decades and is in the focus of the European Commission aiming to harmonize the accounting systems of its Member States by developing European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS). Therefore, the topic is of high relevance for both academia and practitioners. This book provides different views about PSA in Europe as of today. It spans topics such as history of PSA, its differences to private sector accounting and finance statistics, as well as budgeting. A main part is devoted to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) by addressing their spread, conceptual framework and selected public sector specific standards, including a case study. Also, consolidated financial reporting is covered by drawing examples. This textbook is not only of use for students and researchers, but interested readers that seek for broad perspectives on PSA such as practitioners and members of intergovernmental organisations. It intends to complement university teaching modules on PSA as those accessible for free under www.offene.uni-rostock.de/online-course-european-public-sector-accounting

Probing Diffusion Laws within Cellular Membranes by Z-Scan Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy

The plasma membrane of various mammalian cell types is heterogeneous in structure and may contain microdomains, which can impose constraints on the lateral diffusion of its constituents. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) can be used to investigate the dynamic properties of the plasma membrane of living cells. Very recently, Wawrezinieck et al. (Wawrezinieck, L., H. Rigneault, D. Marguet, and P. F. Lenne. 2005. Biophys. J. 89:4029-4042) described a method to probe the nature of the lateral microheterogeneities of the membrane by varying the beam size in the FCS instrument. The dependence of the width of the autocorrelation function at half-maximum, i.e., the diffusion time, on the transverse area of the confocal volume gives information on the nature of the imposed confinement. We describe an alternative approach that yields essentially the same information, and can readily be applied on commercial FCS instruments by measuring the diffusion time and the particle number at various relative positions of the cell membrane with respect to the waist of the laser beam, i.e., by performing a Z-scan