Public managers throughout the world work in an unforgiving environment in which to take risks. Managers face varying pressures from a range of informed publics to ensure that risks to them are minimized or eliminated; while many are simultaneously subject to criticism, via private practice...

Purpose – There is a widening gap between the expectations of internal audit stakeholders and the value the function brings to the table, for example, in the management of the risks threatening an organisation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the views of chief audit executives...

The new South Africa came into being in 1994. The new government inherited the national public service and those of a variety of former provinces and homelands that had to be amalgamated to form a national unified public service. Although this task was accomplished rapidly, the resulting public...

Gives a personal account of the author’s memories and experiences of apartheid prior to South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994. Looks at the changes which have taken place in the nature and function of governance in South Africa ‐ from oppression to liberation ‐ and the...

Completing projects faster than the normal duration is always a challenge to the management of any project, as it often demands many paradigm shifts. Opportunities of globalization, competition from private sectors and multinationals force the management of public sector organizations in the...

Local authorities in the UK have lagged behind other sectors in developing a sector‐wide approach to the risk management aspects of corporate governance. The governance framework published in 2001, however, goes further than the private sector combined code in its reporting requirements. This...

Purpose – This paper has two purposes. The first is to help elected officials address the issue of public accountability for crises and improve productivity and risk management in the process by outsourcing some traditional government functions to civil society based organizations that can do...

Purpose – This paper aims to put forward for consideration new insights into the creation of “second order” change in local government. Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews were carried out in five local authorities to investigate risk management (RM) processes....

Purpose – Since the early 1990s there has been a growth in local authorities of risk management. However, despite a range of different strategies, initiatives and practices the issue of financing the risks to which authorities are exposed has remained problematic. The traditional dependence on...

Purpose – This article aims to consider success in terms of the financial returns and risks of new public management (NPM) in state‐owned enterprises (SOEs). Design/methodology/approach – Financial returns of New Zealand SOEs were examined through a review of their annual reports over a...