Governmental Purchase Card Programs: A Case on the Stewardship of Public Resources

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...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Accounting perspectives 2008, Vol.7 (1), p.69
Main Authors: Mills, Timothy H, Normand, Carol J, Palmer, Richard J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Accounting
Accounting standards
Efficiency
Government purchasing
Government waste
Infrastructure
Procurement cards
Public administration
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: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 not impact on what 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, classroom-friendly, real-world case that demonstrates the political challenges that can erupt when well-intentioned governmental officials attempt to improve the functioning of government activities. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:1911-382X
1911-3838
DOI:10.1506/ap.7.1.5