Ethical consideration and accounting system in public sector
Background of the proposed project
For some, globalisation is a process that is beneficial, i.e. a key to the future world economic development and also inevitable and irreversible. Others regard it with hospitality even fear, believing that it increases inequality within and between nations or organisations, threatens employment and living standards and thwarts social progress. In the civil service sector, one of the major considerations is the global trends in government ethics as part of the ever-changing practices in the discipline of public administration specifically in the accounting system. As it is, despite the fast globalisation, issues and problems exist regarding a worldwide consensus on the basic ethical principles ruling the public sector (Gethmann, 1998).
According to Carter and colleagues (2000) public administrators, government institutions, and administrative cultures across the world are highly diverse particularly in the ways public services function. Such differences are evident in the (a) concepts of “accountability” as well as “loyalty”, (b) hierarchy, (c) supervisor and subordinate interactions, (d) fiduciary handling of public funds, (e) decision-making processes, and (f) staff management relations. Since the public accounting system is responsible in managing the overall financial processes in a particular setting, governments invest in infrastructures to (1) promote the development of efficient state sectors of production, (2) create favorable conditions for private enterprise, (3) create suitable welfare systems, (4) invest in the development of human resources, and (5) protect the environment.
All these call for the need to provide more flexible and improved systems of accounting process to meet the needs of the public as well as the proper allocation of government resources. Moreover, the members of the civil servant are required to ensure social development to present solutions to social and economic inequalities, to provide favorable conditions for the development of national and foreign private sectors, to modernize administrative procedures for the benefit of the public in general, and to create a citizen-friendly civil service as well as the provision of high order services (Carter et al, 2000). But with these standard requirements among public governing bodies are the challenges of highly publicised ethical failures in the public sector that resulted from the accountability, audits and performance-based indicators that threaten the credibility of the members of the public sector in serving the population. As was identified, perceived lack of integrity in government and the administration has lead to declining voter confidence in state institutions and public officials resulting to negative implications on the ideologies of democracy. Political leaders are faced with the demands from the public to improve ethical standards by creating a balance between traditional values of public administration and the contemporary results-based public management environment. Reforms in public governance and administration were undertaken in order to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of government sectors to best serve the people.
Primarily, the goal of this proposed project is to analyse the ethical consideration and accounting system in a public sector.
Research Objective
The following statements cover the objectives that this research endevour aims to achieve upon the completion of the data and information needed through sound analysis and interpretation of the findings of the proposed project:
· To investigate the context of ethical consideration and accounting system within public sectors.
· To know the conflicts faced by the public sectors in terms of ensuring ethical consideration in accounting system.
· To analyse the context of public accountability and ethical standards in public government to ensure efficiency and cost effectiveness.
Methodology
To achieve the objective of this proposed project, the researcher opted to use descriptive method of research was utilised. The purpose of employing the descriptive method is to describe the nature of a condition, as it takes place during the time of the proposed project and to explore the cause or causes of a particular condition. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire to acquire first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the proposed project.
This research will partially base its findings through quantitative research methods because it permits the research problem to be conducted in a very specific and set terms (Creswell, 1994). This proposed project will also employ qualitative research method because it will attempt to find and build theories that will explain the relationship of one variable with another variable through qualitative elements in research. This permits a flexible and iterative approach. During data gathering the choice and design of methods are constantly modified, based on ongoing analysis. Primary and secondary data will be used in this proposed project. The secondary data will be collated from academic materials and research publications about ethical consideration and accounting system in public sectors.
Reference
Carter, WP, Davies, M, El-Ayouty, Y & Ford, KJ 2000, Government Ethics and Law Enforcement: Toward Global Guidelines, Praeger Publishers: Westport, CT., p. 3.
Creswell, J.W. 1994, Research design. Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Gethmann, CF 1998, "Working Across Cultures, Ethical Perspectives for Intercultural Management", Issues in Business Ethics, vol. 9, as edited by Lange Löhr, and Steinmann, Dordrecht/ Boston/ London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 223-229.
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