Editorial

ID: 2327

Authors: Deborah Moraes Zoauin.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 787-788, July-August, 2010. 2 page(s).

Document type: Editorial (Portuguese)

Custos no setor público

ID: 2217

Authors: Sérgio Fernando Rezende, Armando Cunha, Ricardo Lopes Cardoso.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 789-790, July-August, 2010. 2 page(s).

Document type: Article (Portuguese)

Guidelines and conceptual model of costs for the public sector based on the Brazilian federal government’s experience

ID: 2235

Authors: Nelson Machado, Victor Branco de Holanda.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 791-820, July-August, 2010. 30 page(s).

Keyword: conceptual framework of costs for the public sector , cost information systems , costing methods and cost accumulation system in the public sector , costs in the public sector

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This article presents the Cost Information System (CIS) of the Brazilian federal government. It describes the taxonomic model and its main features, from its concepts to its purposes and user groups, and explores the correlation between the concepts of governmental accounting and cost accounting. It demonstrates the relationship between public policies, fund management, activities and cost objects. To this end, it uses the concepts of accumulation system, costing method and costs in the public sector, as well as government information systems. The article also presents the theoretic conceptual model and the guidelines of the design, and describes the implementation process, which is still ongoing. It finally looks into the future after the development stage of the CIS, and urges its readers to dive into the debate about measuring costs. The importance of CIS to improve the quality of spending in the public sector is highlighted.

The importance of accrual-basis accounting for government cost information

ID: 2252

Authors: José Alexandre M. Pigatto, Victor Branco de Holanda, Cristiane R. Moreira, Frederico A. Carvalho.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 821-837, July-August, 2010. 17 page(s).

Keyword: costs , governmental accounting , public finance

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

Governmental finance management driven by short-term fiscal ratios has been challenged as to its capacity to meet information needs from different stakeholders. Citizenship is accomplished by ensuring individual rights. Financial flows alone do not fully represent neither consumption, nor commitment of citizens’ resources in the long run. They can only show the immediate impact upon public resources use and say little about burden increasing in the future. A broader basis of accounting could disclose long-run intergenerational figures and better supports fiscal and operational policies decision making. This article discusses pressure mechanisms for better information and their manifestations. A case was prepared to illustrate some of the main arguments.

Impairment in the public sector: particularities of Brazilian and international standards

ID: 2269

Authors: Luiz Nelson Guedes de Carvalho, Patrícia de Souza Costa, Alan Teixeira de Oliveira.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 839-876, July-August, 2010. 38 page(s).

Keyword: fair value , Gasb , Impairment , Ipsa

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

Little discussion on impairment in the public sector has occurred in the academic context. Standardizing bodies have published pronouncements on this issue, but many doubts arise and remain unanswered. This article analyzes the particularities of Brazilian and international standards guiding impairment in the public sector: Gasb 42, Ipsas 21 and 26 and NBC T 16.10. The aspects analyzed were related to the impairment concept, the periodicity of applying the test, what assets it should be applied to and the recognition, measurement and disclosure process of impairment loss. The main divergences between the pronouncements are: Gasb 42 is based on principles instead of rules; the criteria Gasb 42 uses to calculate the fair value are similar to the criteria Ipsas 21 and 26 use to calculate the value in use; the replacement cost is used to calculate fair value in Gasb 42 and the outflow value in both Ipsas; only Ipsas 26 uses the figure of cash-generating unit; Gasb 42 does not permit the reversal of impairment loss and the Ipsas do not apply to revalued goods. Although NBC T 16.10 is already in force in Brazil, all public assets and depreciation need to be recognized and measured before this standard is applied.

Debunking the accrual-basis accounting

ID: 2285

Authors: Thiago Bernardo Borges, Poueri do Carmo Mário, Ricardo Lopes Cardoso, André Carlos Busanelli de Aquino.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 877-901, July-August, 2010. 25 page(s).

Keyword: accrual accounting , government accounting , new public management

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This paper presents accrual basis accounting in a straight and objective way, and how it can be applied to the Brazilian public sector. The State of Minas Gerais has been preparing itself to adopt the accrual accounting since 2001. This process has been improved since 2009 as a consequence of the joint work between the Brazilian Treasury and the National Institute of Chartered Accountants that aim to converge the Brazilian public sector accounting standards to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards. The analysis presents the incentives to the adoption of the accrual accounting, even before it becomes mandatory, and the potential effects of that adoption on decision making. The Minas Gerais public reform was a consequence of public deficits and the need to cut expenses. It drove the State to establish performance contracts that demand performance information. Although accrual accounting might provide benefits for decision making and accountability, the public sector will need to face some issues, as training, technological barriers and uncertainties related to the thresholds of the public finance legislation.

Cost management applied to public university hospitals: the experience of the The Ribeirão Preto Medical School Clinics Hospital of the University of São Paulo

ID: 2303

Authors: Carlos Alberto Grespan Bonacim, Adriana Maria Procópio de Araujo.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 903-931, July-August, 2010. 29 page(s).

Keyword: accountability , costing systems , cost management , government sector , public university hospital

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This paper presents the experience of implementing the methodology of cost-based activities (ABC) at The Ribeirão Preto Medical School Clinics Hospital of the University of São Paulo (HCFMRP-USP), through a case study over a period of five years. Characteristics of high technology university hospitals, such as teaching and assistance, make their costs higher than those of non-university hospitals. In its institutional history, HCFMRP-USP lacked a consistent methodology for measuring and assessing the costs of its assistance activities. However, difficulties in financing these activities, associated with a complete restructuring in the hospital’s healthcare model linked to the National Health System, have furthered the adoption of cost mapping, in order to assess adequately the impact of teaching activities in healthcare costs, considering that the country’s democratic agenda has demanded transparency, accountability and, above all, efficiency in public funds management.

The income statement and costing systems as instruments to prove compliance with the constitutional principle of efficiency, governance production and accountability in the public sector: a case at the Public Prosecutors Office in São Paulo

ID: 2378

Authors: Valmor Slomski, Guilherme Bueno de Camargo, Antonio Carlos Cintra do Amaral Filho, Vilma Geni Slomski.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 933-957, July-August, 2010. 25 page(s).

Keyword: costing systems , economic result , efficiency , governance and accountability

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

This article discusses the income statement and costing systems as instruments to prove compliance with the constitutional principle of efficiency, governance production and accountability in the public sector so as to minimize the information asymmetry between state and society. The theoretical framework is based on the teachings of the seminal paper by Ronald Coase (1937), “The nature of the firm,” adapted to the civil service. The research is descriptive-quantitative, and the data, referring to 2006, was collected through document analysis at the Public Prosecutors Office (PGMSP) in São Paulo. The results of the empirical research suggest that the income statement can reveal compliance with the constitutional principle of efficiency, since it compares the economic revenue (R$ 302,894,295.11) to the costs and expenses incurred (R$ 118,058,180.00), indicating an economic outcome (R$ 184,836,115.11). It also creates new paradigms related to governance and accountability in public administration, capable of producing information to society and support for the decision-making process of public administrators.

Government cost information and the quality of public expenditure: lessons from the international experience

ID: 2368

Authors: Fernando Rezende, Armando Cunha, Roberto Bevilacqua.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 959-992, July-August, 2010. 34 page(s).

Keyword: budget , costs , government , public expenditure

Document type: Article (Portuguese) Show Abstract

Allocation and management of public funds can be significantly improved when good information on costs of producing and delivering public goods and services is regularly available, so that tax payers’ money can bring better social benefits. Pundits diverge on which is the best way to use the information on government costs extracted from the adoption of accrual accounting in the public sector. Some argue in favor of using such information as an important tool for improving decision making during the regular budgetary process. Others support the idea of revolutionizing the whole budget by adopting the so-called accrual budgeting. This article explores this question on the basis of evidences provided by international experiences and points to important elements that should be taken into account in the ongoing debate in Brazil.

Credit guarantee systems for small enterprises under scrutiny: the case of the German Buergschaftsbanken

ID: 2347

Authors: Manfred Nitsch, Dirk Kramer.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 995-1022, July-August, 2010. 28 page(s).

Document type: Article (English)

Maior complexidade institucional e expansão do poder de mando

ID: 2342

Authors: Jorge Vianna Monteiro.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 1023-1030, July-August, 2010. 8 page(s).

Document type: Article (Portuguese)

Errata: - RAP, v. 44, n. 3, maio/jun. 2010

ID: 2356

Authors: Revista de Administração Pública - RAP.

Source: Revista de Administração Pública, v. 44, n. 4, p. 1031-1031, July-August, 2010. 1 page(s).

Document type: Other (Portuguese)