Performance Reporting by Malaysian Local Authorities: Identifying Stakeholder Needs

Abstract

The concept of public accountability promotes the need for a comprehensive set of performance‐related information to satisfy the information needs of a diverse stakeholder interest group. However, literature concerned with the scope of information to be disclosed, and in particular within the context of a developing country, is limited. This paper identifies the information set which stakeholders of Malaysian local authorities consider relevant in the monitoring and assessment of local authority performance. Stakeholders indicated strong interest in performance information that is not traditionally disclosed in the financial statements: non‐financial information particularly performance measurement of outputs, outcomes, efficiency and effectiveness. Disclosures in the Statement of Revenue and Expenditure and forward‐looking information are generally regarded as the most important disclosures. The results of the study also indicate differences amongst stakeholders as to the level of importance that they place on certain items especially items related to internal policies and governance and financial position of the local authorities. The findings will be of significance to policy makers interested in improving the performance reporting of Malaysian public sector entities, particularly local authorities.

Developing Accountability Disclosure Index for Malaysian State Islamic Religious Councils (Sircs): Quantity and Quality

“…The key feature of disclosure for the NPo such as public sector, charities and NGos is to satisfy stakeholders' needs (Dhanani & Connolly, 2012;Hyndman, 1990;Tooley et al, 2010). Various stakeholders have an interest in information about governmental entities and NPo for accountability discharge.…”

Public sector management accounting in emerging economies: A literature review

“…Similarly, three Malaysian studies also indicate the wholesale adoption of private-sector styles of performance measurement systems in the public sector (Chiu, 1997;Shafie, 1996;Tooley et al, 2010). All of these studies are mechanistic in nature and, more importantly, offer no critical reflections on whether MA changes contributed to better service delivery to the public, as intended.…”

Extent of Disclosure in the Annual Reports of Malaysian Federal Statutory Bodies

“…Within this group, the item showing the highest disclosure, namely customer satisfaction (ADI78) is much lower than Wei et al's (2008) study which scored 58 per cent. In addition, the score achieved for ADI78 may not be a favourable situation as a prior study by Tooley et al (2010) found that customer satisfaction was perceived by Malaysian local government stakeholders as a very important information.…”

“…The first two items are required by the TC4/2007 to be disclosed. The third item, on the other hand, was listed as among the top 20 performance items which were perceived to be very important by stakeholders in study by Tooley et al (2010) on Malaysian local government. Assuming that stakeholders' information requirements from the Malaysian public sector is similar across different types of entities, it may be said that the high disclosure of ADI89 has partly met the stakeholders' information requirement.…”