Financial planning and control systems
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-162X(199702)17:1<49::AID-PAD912>3.0.CO;2-U |
| Published date | 01 February 1997 |
| Date | 01 February 1997 |
| Author | RON McGRATH |
Financial planning and control systems
RON MCGRATH
New Zealand Customs
SUMMARY
This article surveys essential concepts and elements of New Zealand's state sector reforms,
focusing on: the guiding philosophyÐtransparency and consistency; operating principlesÐthe
distinction between outputs and outcomes, purchaser and provider, government and
departments, the principal instrumentsÐpurchase agreements between ministers and chief
executives, delegation, performance measures. (&1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)
INTRODUCTION
Governments throughout the world are faced with ®nancial pressures while at the
same time the demands from citizens for improved services and a better quality of
life are increasing. As the gap narrows between the community's expectation of a
better quality of life and the realization of that goal, renewed pressure for the
provision of even better government services is likely to become the norm.
Governments and their departments are therefore under constant pressure to ensure
that they are getting value from the policy decisions they make as well as being
mindful that it will often be necessary to make choices between competing policy
demands.
This brings us to the point of examining the various tools that a government needs
so that when it is faced with having to make policy decisions or choices between
competing policies, it has before it all of the necessary information to make an
informed decision. Having made that decision the government then wants to be able
to monitor that the taxpayer or community is getting a quality service at a
competitive price. Because, after all, it is the taxpayer who meets the costs and the
taxpayer has an interest in ensuring those costs are not too high.
THE NEW ZEALAND EXPERIENCE
Need for reform
In the mid-1980s in New Zealand, the government faced an economy with only a
slow economic growth rate, very high ®scal de®cits, high debt and a highly sheltered
private sector. It acted to embark on a programme of signi®cant reforms aimed at
achieving sustainable medium-term growth with a more market-orientated economy.
These reforms included lower protection of local industry, the removal of price and
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT, VOL. 17, 49±54 (1997)
CCC 0271±2075/97/010049±06$17.50
&1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ron McGrath is Assistant Comptroller, New Zealand Customs, P.O. Box 2218, Wellington, New
Zealand.
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