June Pallot: Voice of Reason in New Zealand Public Sector Reforms

1. June Pallot:Voice of Reason in New Zealand Public Sector Reforms By James Guthrie Professor of Accounting, The University of Sydney And Susan Newberry Associate Professor of Accounting, The University of Sydney Invited plenary, 4th international conference on accounting, auditing and management in public sector reforms EIASM, Siena, September 7-9, 2006

2. Summary • June’s work has been hailed internationally as providing a voice of reason and serious research from a country that forged ahead with its public sector reforms • Object: To outline key ideas from June Pallot’s collected works • Her professional experiences informed her understanding and appreciation of theory, as well as her understanding of research findings

3. 1. Introduction • Her vast array of publications which ranged across scholarly refereed and professional articles, parliamentary papers, book chapters, public media commentary, etc.

4. 1. Introduction • June was unique in that she moved over two decades between the world of public sector management and accounting practice and the world of national and international scholarly endeavours with ease and grace • A woman, who through her energy and commitment, confronted the NZ Treasury reform agendas

5. Sections • June’s professional and academic career, highlighting her contribution in building academic networks and participation in practice • A brief review of her scholarly publications identified by major themes over two decades • Identifies and discusses several scholarly themes running through her work • The conclusion highlights June’s role in New Zealand’s public sector reform, both as participant and observer, which provided both critique and conscience

6. 2. A Brief History of June’s Professional and Academic Career • A feature of June’s career was her desire to contribute not just as an academic, but also to policy development and debate.

7. 3. A Brief History of June’s Professional and Academic Career • In 1993, New Zealand marked the occasion of 100 years of being the first country in the world to give women the right to vote by striking 100 Suffrage Centennial medals. June Pallot was the recipient of one of these medals

8. 3. A Brief History of June’s Professional and Academic Career • CV indicates… building academic networks

9. 4. A Brief History of June’s Scholarly Ideas Early 1980s to Early 1990s • The need for change in governmental accounting and the need for especially developed concepts and accounting applications for the public sector • Philosophical work for her PhD research • “Communitarian” perspective and a democratic belief system that she retained for the remainder of her career

10. 3. A Brief History of June’s Scholarly Ideas 1990-2000: Tracking the Reforms • New Zealand’s leadership in financial management reforms meant that international observers showed keen interest in the latest developments and June’s updates

11. 3. A Brief History of June’s Scholarly Ideas 1994-1999: Internationalization of the NZ reforms and why the spread of NPFM • Attempted to understand and explain how ideas spread • Perhaps because of New Zealand’s leadership, June also provided more detailed commentary and critique about specific aspects

12. 3. A Brief History of June’s Scholarly Ideas 1986-1996: Stories from the “inside”, privatised entity and the audit office

13. 3. A Brief History of June’s Scholarly Ideas 1996 - 2002: Exploration of transformation within local government

14. 3. A Brief History of June’s Scholarly Ideas 2001 - 2004: Outspoken critic of NZ public sector transformation reforms • Later, damaging effects became apparent both within New Zealand and to outside observers • June described some of these effects

15. 4. June’s Research Directions • Importance of accounting change and unique nature of public sector in Pallot (1998) • This is a noted feature of “New Public Financial Management” reforms (Olson et.al)

16. 4. June’s Research Directions • Accounting change and unique nature of public sector • Accounting for infrastructure assets • Participated in and observed New Zealand’s reforms • Call for a broader concept of governance

17. 5. Summary and Conclusions • The paper’s main objective was to outline key ideas from June Pallot’s collected work • Her contribution spanned across theoretical and practical issues associated with: • Governance • Accountability to Parliament • A contextual Public Sector Accounting • An enabling Public Sector Management and Accounting

18. 5. Summary and Conclusions • In one of her last published works (Newberry and Pallot, 2005), June challenged the view that technical accounting matters were not neutral and politically insignificant • Highlighted how technical mechanisms have contributed to the reduction in the size and capacity of central government

19. 6. Future Research Directions • Government budgeting and what were the intended consequences and—in practice—the actual outcomes • Business sector-derived accounting practices carry with them underlying ideas about assets as private property, about capital maintenance, about companies as separate entities • The nature of public infrastructure and issues of funding, renewal (PPP) and intergenerational equity issues

20. 6. Future Research Directions • Issues of network governance and boundary issues associated with control and public accounting in public service delivery • Tensions between constitutional control and public accountability • Governance issues, and a series of challenges for accounting