Accountants und Ökonomen : Einzel- oder Paartanz?

Mit der Finanz- und Schuldenkrise wurde die oft sehr technisch verlaufende Debatte, wie staatliche Defizite, Schulden oder Vermögenswerte am besten gemessen werden (Stichwort: Kameralistik/Cash versus Doppik/Accrual), wieder in einen ökonomischen Blickwinkel gebracht. Der im Accounting vorherrschenden betriebswirtschaftlichen Perspektive wurde vermehrt eine volkswirtschaftliche Betrachtung gegenübergestellt. Dieser Beitrag geht der Frage nach, in welchem Verhältnis die beiden Disziplinen zueinanderstehen und wie sie zukünftig besser harmonieren können

Institutional hybridity in public sector reform: replacement, blending, or layering of administrative paradigms

Despite an abundance of studies on hybridization and hybrid forms of organizing, scholarly work has failed to distinguish consistently between specific types of hybridity. As a consequence, the analytical category has become blurred and lacks conceptual clarity. Our paper discusses hybridity as the simultaneous appearance of institutional logics in organizational contexts, and differentiates the parallel co-existence of logics from transitional combinations (eventually leading to the replacement of a logic) and more robust combinations in the form of layering and blending. While blending refers to hybridity as an “amalgamate” with original components that are no longer discernible, the notion of layering conceptualizes hybridity in a way that the various elements, or clusters thereof, are added on top of, or alongside, each other, similar to sediment layers in geology. We illustrate and substantiate such conceptual differentiation with an empirical study of the dynamics of public sector reform. In more detail, we examine the parliamentary discourse around two major reforms of the Austrian Federal Budget Law in 1986 and in 2007/2009 in order to trace administrative (reform) paradigms. Each of the three identified paradigms manifests a specific field-level logic with implications for the state and its administration: bureaucracy in Weberian-style Public Administration, market-capitalism in New Public Management, and democracy in New Public Governance. We find no indication of a parallel co-existence or transitional combination of logics, but hybridity in the form of robust combinations. We explore how new ideas fundamentally build on – and are made resonant with – the central bureaucratic logic in a way that suggests layering rather than blending. The conceptual findings presented in our paper have implications for the literature on institutional analysis and institutional hybridity

Manifestationen von Reformparadigmen im österreichischen Haushaltsrecht [Manifestations of Reform Paradigms in the Austrian Federal Accounting and Budgeting Legislation]

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Neue Wege des Haushaltsmanagements : Internationale Erfahrungen, Herausforderungen und Trends

Die Modernisierung des Haushaltswesens hat in den letzten Jahren zunehmend an Dynamik gewonnen und wird in einem immer breiteren Verständnis interpretiert, so dass in jüngster Zeit auch Reformen und Veränderungsprozesse in den Begriff eingeschlossen werden, die bislang nicht darunter subsumiert wurden. So beschränkt sich die Haushaltsmodernisierung nicht länger auf die Einführung von Kosten- und Leistungsrechnung oder doppischer Rechnungslegung, auf mittel- und langfristige Budgetmodelle oder auf die Flexibilisierung bzw. verstärkte Ergebnisorientierung von Haushalten, sondern sie entwickelt sich zu einem integrativen Verwaltungsführungsinstrument. Die Neuausrichtung des Haushalts auf Nachhaltigkeit und Ergebnisorientierung resultiert im Idealfall in einer neuen Steuerungsphilosophie und umfasst strategische Aspekte sowie Organisations- und Personalmanagement. Die Autorinnen und Autoren dieses Bandes präsentieren und diskutieren internationale und nationale Trends, Best Practices und Herausforderungen für eine erfolgreiche Umsetzung. Sie stellen die erforderlichen Verknüpfungen der einzelnen Elemente des Haushaltswesens dar und verweisen auf unverzichtbare Eckpunkte der Implementierung integrierter Systeme

Legitimating change in the public-sector: the introduction of (rational?) accounting practices in the UK, Italy and Austria

This paper explores the deployment of rhetorical legitimation strategies during public-sector accounting reforms by investigating how organizational actors justify related changes in the central governments of the United Kingdom (UK), Italy and Austria. The study shows that changes are largely legitimated (and rarely delegitimated) by key actors, with authorization strategies dominating. Country differences and actors’ professional backgrounds also impact upon the use of legitimation strategies, with those from an accounting background and working in the UK being more likely to justify change in terms of rationalization and normalization. Italian and Austrian actors more frequently resort to authorization strategies to explain accounting change

Prepared by a staff team led by Xavier Debrun and comprising Tidiane

Fiscal councils are independent public institutions aimed at promoting sustainable public finances through various functions, including public assessments of fiscal plans and performance, and the evaluation or provision of macroeconomic and budgetary forecasts. By fostering transparency and promoting a culture of stability, they can raise reputational and electoral costs of undesirable policies and broken commitments. With commitments to sustainable public finances under close scrutiny since the crisis, policymakers ’ interest in fiscal councils is growing. This paper addresses three key questions about the potential contribution of fiscal councils to fiscal credibility. What are the main characteristics of existing fiscal councils around the world? Are there specific features in the design and institutional form of fiscal councils that can enhance their effectiveness? What are the main building blocks of effective fiscal councils? The paper relies on statistical analysis based on a unique dataset of fiscal councils, and on selected case studies. The paper concludes that all else equal, fiscal councils can promote stronger fiscal discipline as long as they are well-designed. The analysis points to a number of key features of effective fiscal councils: a strict operational independence from politics, the provision or public assessment of budgetary forecasts, a strong presence in the public debate (notably through an effective communication strategy), and an explicit role in monitoring fiscal policy rules. Of course, the remit, tasks, and institutional models of fiscal councils should reflect country-specific characteristics, such as available human and financial capacities