This book considers how the practical and public policy relevance of research might be increased, and academics and practitioners can better engage to define research agendas and deliver findings relevant to accounting and accountability in the public services. To do so, an international comparative analysis of the research-practice gap in public sector accounting has been undertaken. This involved academic perspectives from over twenty countries, and practitioner perspectives from leading international professional accounting bodies actively involved in the public services arena. It was found that research is valued for informing practice, but engaging at a high level of policy engagement has been primarily by a small group of experienced researchers. For other researchers the impact accomplished may not always be valued highly in the academic community relative to other, more scholarly, activities. The book therefore looks at how engagement and impact between academics and practitioners can be increased.

This volume provides a unique insight into the ways local governments have maintained financial resilience in the face of the significant challenges posed by the era of austerity. Taking an international perspective, it provides an enlightening and practical analysis of the different capacities and responses that local governments deploy to cope with financial shocks.Moving beyond traditional approaches dealing with financial stress, the financial resilience perspective reveals a wider range of organisational responses and enables consideration of the dynamic role played by internal and external contextual factors. The international case study approach allows for a comparative analysis of financial resilience in the context of different administrative and policy environments. By providing a unifying view of financial resilience, the importance of building resilience into organisational financial management is demonstrated, uncovering the relative effectiveness of different resilience building approaches. This edited volume is a valuable source for practitioners and academics, as well as students of public policy, public management and financial management.

This volume provides a unique insight into the ways local governments have maintained financial resilience in the face of the significant challenges posed by the era of austerity. Taking an international perspective, it provides an enlightening and practical analysis of the different capacities and responses that local governments deploy to cope with financial shocks.Moving beyond traditional approaches dealing with financial stress, the financial resilience perspective reveals a wider range of organisational responses and enables consideration of the dynamic role played by internal and external contextual factors. The international case study approach allows for a comparative analysis of financial resilience in the context of different administrative and policy environments. By providing a unifying view of financial resilience, the importance of building resilience into organisational financial management is demonstrated, uncovering the relative effectiveness of different resilience building approaches. This edited volume is a valuable source for practitioners and academics, as well as students of public policy, public management and financial management.

Worldwide, universities have recently been the object of large reform processes, facing strong pressure not only from their institutional environment to offer new programs and to adopt new governance and management systems to keep up with the growing competition in the higher education sector but also because of calls for an increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of academic institutions. The authors discuss the introduction of managerial approaches of university governance and the effects on the challenges and threats to treat universities like private for-profit businesses.

Bereits seit uber 20 Jahren sind in einem Grossteil der westlichen Industriestaaten - und mittlerweile auch in einigen Entwicklungslandern - Reformen zu be- achten, die darauf abzielen, die Leistungsfahigkeit und Transparenz von Staat und Verwaltung zu erhohen. Im deutschsprachigen Raum sind es in erster Linie die Kommunalverwaltungen, die im Blickpunkt zahlreicher Reformaktivitaten stehen. Kommunen sind aufgrund der geringen Distanz und den direkten und vielfaltigen Kontaktmoglichkeiten zu Burgerinnen und Burgern von hohem - mokratischen Stellenwert - sie ubernehmen wichtige Versorgungs-, Leistungs-, Fursorge-, Vollzugs- und Planungsfunktionen. Im Hinblick auf die offentliche Aufgabenerfullung und ihre Bedeutung fur die Lebensverhaltnisse der Burger- nen und Burger wird ihnen ebenfalls eine zentrale Rolle zugesprochen. Die V- anderungen von politischen, finanziellen, wirtschaftlichen und auch gesellscha- lichen Rahmenbedingungen schlagen unmittelbar auf diese Ebene durch und stellen hohe Anforderungen an eine effektive kommunale Steuerung. Frau Saliterer nimmt sich in der vorliegenden Arbeit dieser Thematik an und geht der Frage nach, wie gesamtkommunale Ziel- und Erfolgssteuerung - fektiver gestaltet werden kann. In diesem Sinne entwickelt die Autorin ein - fassendes und theoretisch basiertes Modell fur eine ganzheitliche kommunale Steuerung auf Basis von Kennzahlen und Indikatoren, um damit Ansatzpunkte fur zukunftige Reformbestrebungen zu liefern."