Fiscal accountability: The Dutch experience

Before 1980 accountability was hardly addressed in Dutch politics. Illustrative is that full-fledged internal audit units at most government departments were not established until the last 1970s and early 1980s. As a result, accountability was weak in the central government sector, at least until the mid-1980s. Political attention was mainly focused on (more) spending and new policy initiatives bringing about upward pressure on public expenditure. Since the late 1970s, however, a number of attempts have been undertaken to strengthen the control of the budget. Though most of these endeavors were highly unsuccessful, with the reconsideration procedure as a fragile exception, they undoubtedly contributed to changing views on public administration. Accountability and public financial management issues have drawn growing attention at the central government level in The Netherlands. Eventually, this has led to substantial administrative improvements during the late 1980s. The paper describes some recent major developments in public financial management. Furthermore, it identifies four underlying factors which appear to be mainly temporary and occasional in nature. However, this does not necessarily imply that the improvements will fade gradually. Crucial is whether or not the organizational, accounting and financial control systems built up during the 1980s will be maintained. This may be stimulated by new developments. First, a parliamentary inquiry started in September 1992 may trigger a new process of administrative improvements. Second, the introduction of a new administrative format for certain government units may provide incentives for further improvements of financial management in specific branches of the public sector.