Crashing through with accrual-output price budgeting in Australia : technical adjustment or a new way of doing business?
- Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications, March 2004
In 1999 Australia embarked on an accrual methodology in conjunction with an ambitious outcomes-outputs framework. The changes were driven by central budgetary agencies who wanted to see the total costs (or prices) of outputs reflected in budgetary documentation and evidence of value for money in declared results. The government also decided to implement te changes within 1 year, and by adopting a crash-through mentality the central actors persevered and succesfully achivied their main objective. Many problems, dilemmas, and inconsistencies were encountered along the way, not the least of wich raised questions about the very nature of the annual budget. This article examines the trajectory of these reforms and asks how sucessfully they were implemented ad accepted. It also raise questions about many of the decisions made in the process of change and wether the quality of budgetary information has improved the cabinet decision-making process. The article argues that accrual budgeting was implemented in Australia with many compromises and adaptations, but that the exercise should be understood primarily as part of a broader process of public sector reform.