Term

Definition

Accounting Officer

A senior official (normally the Secretary) in each Department or office specifically and personally charged with signing the Appropriation Account and accountable for the propriety of the department’s expenditure, the accuracy of the account and for prudent and economical administration.  The Accountable Officer has day-to-day operational responsibility and accountability for the resources under control of a Department.

Accrual Accounting

A method of accounting which matches expenditure and income to the accounting period to which each transaction relates irrespective of the date on which payment is made or receivable. Accrual accounting involves the recognition of revenues, expenses (including depreciation), assets, liabilities and equity when the economic transaction occurs, irrespective of the timing of any related movement of cash.  Accrual accounts also include cash transactions. Revenue is recognised at the time goods and services are provided.  An expense is recognised at the time it is incurred, not necessarily when the cash is paid over.   

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the process of rating an organisation's practices, processes, and products against the best and then emulating them.  It involves seeking out best-in-class performers inside or outside the organisation, studying them to determine why they are the best at what they do, and applying what is learned.  Benchmark:  A standard or point of reference used in measuring and/or judging quality or value. Benchmarking is the process of assessing an agency’s performance in producing a good or service against a comparable good or service within or external to the agency.

Compound Indicators

Is the weighted sum of several elementary or derived indicators

Cost Allocation

Cost allocation is the process of attributing all relevant costs, both indirect and direct, to outputs so as to determine the full output cost.  Examples of such costs are salaries and wages, including increases in superannuation and leave liabilities; depreciation and amortisation; other direct costs, including materials and services; resources received free of charge; cost of capital; and other indirect costs (local and corporate overhead allocation).

Cost (output) Measures

Cost measures reflect the full accrual cost to an agency of producing each output.

Derived Indicators

A ratio or rate based on the calculation of the ratio between two elementary indicators.

Effectiveness Indicators

Relate inputs and outputs to outcomes.  Are the outputs produced actually having the desired impact?

Efficiency Indicators

Relate what was produced to resources used.  Efficiency measures are also known as productivity measures.  Efficiency measures reflect the cost of providing products or services.  Cost can be expressed in terms of dollars or time per unit of output (or outcome).  Efficiency measures can also be portrayed as the relationship of outputs (or outcomes) to inputs. 

Elementary Indicators

Provides basic information on which other indicators can be built.

Evaluation Indicators

Obtains information on impacts by means of surveys or in-depth studies.

Generic Indicators

Serves to make comparable measurements of several different kinds of intervention within the same programme

Goals

The general end purposes toward which effort is directed.

Impact Indicators

The consequences of the programme beyond its direct and immediate interaction with the addressees or recipients

Input

Inputs are the human, physical and financial resources that agencies use to produce the outputs.  Input measures identify the amount of resources needed to provide a particular product or service.  Inputs include labour, materials, equipment and supplies.  Inputs can also represent demand factors such as characteristics of target populations.  Input measures are useful in showing the total cost of providing a service, the mix of resources used to provide the service, the demand for services, and the amount of resources used for one service in relation to the other.

Key Indicators

Are those which lend themselves to internal comparison between different interventions and to external comparison with other programmes. High level or strategic indicators - key performance indicators - are used for external reporting, for example, in the Strategy statement, while operational indicators are used for internal management purposes - for example, the indicators included in the work plans for each Assistant Secretary area. Measurable factor of extreme importance to the organisation in achieving its strategic goals, objectives, vision, and values that, if not implemented properly, would likely result in a significant decrease in customer satisfaction, employee morale, and effective financial management.

Mission

A short, comprehensive statement of purpose.  The mission identifies what an organisation does (or should do) and for whom it does it. 

Monitoring Indicators

Are quantified by operators when they implement the programme or when they are in contact with the addressees or recipients

Non-cash items

Intermediate outputs are goods or services of one part of an agency, delivered to another part of the same agency or steps along the way in the internal production process, that directly contribute to the delivery of an external output

Objectives

Specific and measurable targets for accomplishment of a goal.  Objectives are SMART.  That is, they will be specific, measurable, aggressive yet attainable, result-orientated and time-bound. Objectives are generally expressed in terms of the results or outcomes intended to be achieved.  Objectives describe a more specific level of achievement than goals.  Objectives should be defined in such a way as to allow subsequent assessment as to whether or not they are achieved.  Objectives may sometimes usefully be supplemented by the setting of specific, quantified targets.

Outcome

Outcomes are the benefits or changes for individuals or groups arising from pursuing a particular policy or policies.  The ultimate result the government seeks to achieve from its activities, and the activities of those it influences, in order to meet its objectives e.g. reduced crime, higher educational attainment, better health. Outcomes are the effects, impacts, results on or consequences (intentional or unintentional) for community (or target clients) of the goods and services (“outputs”) produced by agencies.

Outcome measure

Outcome measures address whether or not the service is meeting its proposed goals.  Outcomes reflect the actual results achieved and the impact.  Both intermediate and long- term outcomes can be evaluated.  Intermediate outcomes can be useful in assessing early results when the primary goals will not be realised for several years.

Output

Outputs are the goods and/or services produced as a result of pursuing the specified objectives and strategies. They may be either generic outputs for an office or section, or specific outputs arising out of objectives and strategies. Output measures represent the amount of products or services provided. Outputs focus on level of activity in providing a particular service. Key outputs are funded to achieve government desired outcomes.

Output Based Management

OBM is a management approach designed to assist government and agencies in resourcing the outputs (goods and services) required to achieve desired outcomes (results, or impact upon society).  OBM’s key focus is upon identifying government’s intended outcomes, determining which outputs are required to achieve the outcomes, and purchasing those outputs from the most cost-efficient and effective producer from the public or private sector.  It is intended that this approach will more strongly reflect the relationship between what agencies produce, and the impact on society.   

Output Measure

A performance measure that reflects the amount of goods and services produced by a programme. Information about the ultimate result is not always available or practical to measure.  In these instances, it may be necessary to use proxy or surrogate measures.  Output measures of quantity, quality, timeliness and cost are direct measures of performance.

Output price

Output price is the price government purchases outputs from providers of goods and services.  It is generally set independently of output costs and is based on benchmarking other service providers.

Output Target

Output targets are agreed levels of production and performance to be achieved within a specified time

Performance Budgeting

A budget system that allocated resources to achieve measurable results

Performance Goal

A target level of an activity expressed as a tangible measurable objective, against which actual achievement can be compared

Performance Indicators

Performance indicators are measures of economy, effectiveness and efficiency. 

Performance

Management Framework

A performance framework brings structure to performance planning and clarifies the connection between activities, outputs and results. A good performance framework will address why your programme is relevant to the strategic objective, who you want to reach (outputs in terms of target groups, clients co-delivers, partners, and other stakeholders), what results you expect to achieve, and how you are going to achieve your objectives (inputs, processes, activities and outputs).

Performance Measure

A management tool that measures work performed and results achieved. A measurable indicator of performance which may or may not be targeted.

Performance Target

Performance targets are quantifiable estimates or results expected for a given period of time.  Performance targets should represent realistic expectations of changes that can be made.

Quality (output) Measures

Quality measures reflect the effectiveness in meeting the expectations of customers and stakeholders.  Measures of quality include reliability, accuracy, courtesy, competence, responsiveness, and completeness associated with the product or service provided.  Lack of quality also costs money.  For example, resources devoted to performing rework, correcting errors, or resolving customer complaints can also be important to track.  Thus, the cost of quality can also be a type of quality measure.

Quantity (Output) Measures

Quantity Measures describe outputs in terms of how much, or how many and require a unit of measurement to be defined.  Quantity may reflect a single output, or a number of discrete deliverables within an output.

Relevance Indicators

Relate the programme objectives to the needs that have to be met

Resource (input) Indicators

Means made available by financing authorities and used by operators for their activities

Result Indicators

Measure the immediate benefits of a programme to its recipients or beneficiaries.

Specific Indicators

Is used in the case of an intervention and is not intended to be used for comparison

Stakeholder

Organisations, groups or individuals that have a vested interest or expect certain levels of performance or compliance from the organisation.  Stakeholders do not necessarily use the products or receive the services of a programme.  Sometimes referred to as expectation group.

Strategic Goal

Goals (generally not exceeding 5 or 6 in number) are broad statements of intent, focused on outcomes, and covering a particular sector or sphere of activity.

Strategic Planning

The process of developing a strategic plan.  Because strategic planning is a team effort that builds consensus on a future direction for an organisation, the process itself is more important than the resulting document.

Strategic Plans

Strategies are detailed actions to be pursued in order to achieve or to support the achievement of goals and objectives.  A practical action-orientated guide, based upon an examination of internal and external factors which directs goal-setting and resource allocation to achieve meaningful results over time.

Timeliness (output) Measures

Timeliness measures provide parameters for how often, or within what time frame outputs will be produced.

Transfer Pricing

Transfer pricing is the process of assigning a cost for internal charging purposes.

Vision

A compelling conceptual image of the desired future.  A vision focuses and ennobles an idea about a future state of being in such a way as to excite and compel an organisation toward its attainment.  It crystallises what management wants the organization to be in the future.