Governmental Purchase Card Programs: A Case on the Stewardship of Public Resources/PROGRAMMES GOUVERNEMENTAUX DE CARTE D'ACHAT: UN CAS DE GÉRANCE DES RESSOURCES PUBLIQUES

• Published in: Accounting perspectives 2008-02, Vol.7 (1), p.69-81
• Main Authors: Mills, Timothy H., Normand, Carol J., Palmer, Richard J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: carte d'achat; efficience; Efficiency; gaspillage gouvernemental; gestion; Government waste; Purchase card; Stewardship
• ISSN: 1911-382X; 1911-3838
• DOI: 10.1506/ap.7.1.5

ABSTRACT Governmental entities in the United States are currently faced with a myriad of factors that are creating severe financial pressure. Revenue declines in a time of great need for infrastructure replacement are driving budget cutbacks and rescissions of alarming proportions. The general public, faced with the threat of increased taxes and fees and/or cutbacks in services, is demanding better management of and accountability for resources by governmental units. Some governmental entities, stung by criticisms of bureaucracy and waste, have attempted to strengthen their stewardship focus by finding ways to reduce or eliminate non‐value‐added administrative work, particularly when that work has little or no impact on constituents. In the spirit of “no good deed shall go unpunished", some governmental organizations that have attempted to increase their efficiency have drawn stinging criticism from the same public that rails against the waste associated with existing government policies and practice. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), responding to calls for greater accountability for management of governmental resources, has created new rules that increase the transparency of the functions of governmental agencies by requiring them to report more information about their finances and stewardship of their resources. The purpose of this case is to assist accounting instructors by identifying the arguments for increased reporting of governmental efficiency, to discuss new accounting rules related to the promotion of government efficiency, and to provide a brief, classroomfriendly, real‐world case that demonstrates the political challenges that can erupt when well‐intentioned governmental officials attempt to improve the functioning of governmental activities. RÉSUMÉ Les entités gouvernementales aux États‐Unis sont actuellement aux prises avec quantité de facteurs exerçant de fortes pressions sur les finances. Le déclin des recettes, au moment où le besoin de renouveler l'infrastructure se fait pressant, entraîne des réductions budgétaires et des suppressions qui prennent d'alarmantes proportions. Le grand public, devant la menace de hausse des impôts et des tarifs ou de réduction des services, exige de la part des entités gouvernementales davantage d'efficacité dans la gestion des ressources et la reddition de comptes. Certaines de ces entités, auxquelles on reprochait d'abuser des procédures et de gaspiller, ont tenté de mieux cibler leur g