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As of 2013 the Austrian federal government will be managed according to the principle of outcome-orientation. This reform element is integrated in a holistic financial management framework, comprising a legally binding medium expenditure framework with a relaxed budget system giving high carry-forward and shifting possibilities (as of 2009), accrual budgeting and accounting, a modified form of programme budgeting and the creation of the Federal Performance Office in the Federal Chancellery and a Budget Office in Parliament (e.g. Seiwald, Meyer, Hammerschmid, Egger-Peitler, & Höllerer, 2013; Seiwald/Geppl 2012; Steger, 2007). The relaxed budget rules, since 2009 in effect, have created an accountability gap, which will be closed by the Performance Framework.

The performance framework consists of a performance budgeting model with the obligatory definition of objectives and performance indicators for each line ministry, a performance management system with obligatory performance mandates for state bodies and organisations with budgetary responsibility as well as a performance reporting system, for both Parliament and within the government and ministries. The performance measurement systems will have been established and reorganised in order to fulfil the demands of the new performance management regime. The Performance Management Office, established in 2010, supports and advises ministries in this process, provides quality assurance to objectives and indicators and prepares the performance reports to Parliament.

Our paper will describe the key elements of the Austrian performance framework. It explains the implementation strategy and highlights opportunities, tensions as well as challenges from a practical point of view.

Performance information is credible when it assists in accurately assessing departments’ progress towards the achievement of their goals—the cornerstone of performance reporting. In South Africa it is a legislated requirement for government departments to report annually on the performance of the entity against predetermined objectives. The purpose of this paper is to perform a qualitative analysis of the reporting of performance against pre-determined objectives by national government departments and to determine by comparison whether national government departments in South Africa have improved in the quality of the reporting of their performance information from the 2009/10 to the 2010/11 financial years. The objective of the audit of performance information by the AGSA is to determine whether the reported performance of a government department is useful, reliable and compliant to legislative and other official requirements. The results of this study clearly indicate that there are still major deficiencies in the reporting of performance information and that there was no material improvement from the 2009/10 to the 2010/11 financial years.

Performance Management brought new dimensions of public management (thinking in terms of output and outcome, accrual accounting). However, the complex dimensions of politics asked for more complex management systems allowing a better consideration of non-economic dimensions of politics. Multidimensional strategic planning has been developed. Furthermore, internal administration and external (and parliamentarian) communication have different information needs. Information must be tailored to the context and levels of public authorities.

This paper is a meta-review of public sector performance management research as published over the last decade. Contingency-based studies are the predominant types of research on public sector performance management, but the review points to a lack of consistent evidence of which contingency variables are influential under which circumstances. The paper also indicates that a variety of research questions in this field can be addressed by different theories, especially coming from economics, organization theory and institutional sociology. Finally, a set of underdeveloped research areas are highlighted: (1) more extensive theorizing as opposed to the mainly pragmatic perspectives currently adopted; (2) inclusion of ‘hard data’ in the analysis of organizational performance; (3) taking a broader perspective on transformation processes, that is, other than the simple fabrication trajectory, particularly complex project-type of processes and network organizations; (4) benefiting from insights of performance management research in the private sector, for example about pay-for-performance systems.

This paper aims at presenting the Portuguese Court of Auditor's work in what concerns performance audit. As for performance auditing in the Portuguese Court of Auditors, the paper describes the context in which it has been taking place, referring to the need of increasing accuracy, fairness and transparency in the accounts of the entities submitted to its jurisdiction and control and, furthermore, of assessing economy, effectiveness and efficiency in public expenditure and of analysing the new forms of public financial management, thus promoting an increasing accountability of public managers. It also describes how performance audits will contribute to accomplish the Court's strategic and operational goals for the period 2011–2013. The professional point of view about performance auditing of public services, given by an auditor–director at the Portuguese Court of Auditors, represents the main (practical) contribution of the paper.

In Portugal we are living crisis times as it is well known. Therefore, we strongly believe that there is a dangerous relation between the “crisis management”, of the government in the name of State, and a clear material sense of justice and legitimacy. In Portugal we do not need a reform of the judicial system but a reform of how the government thinks and acts about it. The “Rule of Law” is not only an organizational and formal concept of the welfare state, a philosophic category of the XVIII sec. scientists. We can perfectly identify what are the effects of the crisis on the economic, political and judicial Portuguese system. In Portugal, there is a strong feeling about political partiality and disrespect to about impunity of the political class and corruption crimes. It is an issue of legitimacy of state and not only an issue of governability of the people.

This paper addresses the adequacy of the Local Government financial reporting model for internal decision-making by developing an exploratory empirical study that evaluates internal users’ satisfaction concerning the reporting model within the municipality of Bragança. It additionally examines to what extent internal control and financial reporting information opportunity are important for municipalities’ internal decision-making. In Portugal important developments have recently emerged in public sector accounting systems in the context of internal decision-making and control, hence calling for further studying Local Government current financial reporting model in this context.

From an experimental questionnaire applied to decision-makers of Bragança municipality in 2010, main findings show that the actual reporting model is not the most appropriate in providing information for internal decision-making in that municipality. Moreover, both internal control and opportunity of the financial reporting information seem to have significant importance in the context of internal decision-making.