Government Service Efforts and Accomplishments …

1 Government Service Efforts and AccomplishmentsPerformance Reports: A Guide to UnderstandingJuly 2005 Paul EpsteinJames FountainWilson CampbellTerry PattonKimberly KeatonGOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARDOF THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING FOUNDATIONGASB USER GUIDE SERIESWhat You Should Know about Your Local Government s Finances: A Guide to FinancialStatements (GUG01)What You Should Know about Your School District s Finances: A Guide to FinancialStatements (GUG02)An Analyst s Guide to Government Financial Statements (GUG03)What Else You Should Know about a Government s Finances: A Guide to Notes to the Financial Statementsand Supporting Information (GUG04)The Quick Guide to Local Government Financial Statements (GQG01)The Quick Guide to School District Financial Statements (GQG02)The Quick Guide to State Government Financial Statements (GQG03)For information on applicable prices and discount rates, please contact:Order DepartmentGovernmental Accounting Standards Board401 Merritt 7PO Box 5116 Norwalk, CT 06856-5116(800) 748-0659 For a list of the documents in the Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting series, see inside Service Efforts and AccomplishmentsPerformance Reports.

2 A Guide to UnderstandingJuly 2005 Paul EpsteinJames FountainWilson CampbellTerry PattonKimberly KeatonGOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARDOF THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING FOUNDATIONC opyright 2005 by Governmental Accounting Standards Board. All rights reserved. No part of thispublication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of theGovernmental Accounting Standards governments continue to experiment with Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) performancemeasures, more and more reports that incorporate those measures are becoming publicly the increase in externally available SEA reports is the desire of citizens and other users tobetter understand the information in those reports.

3 This publication is intended to assist users by providingthem with the tools to better understand those this guide is primarily structured on reports prepared using the guidelines outlined in the GASBS pecial report , Reporting performance Information: Suggested Criteria for Effective Communication,the insights into what SEA performance measures are intended to convey will be of value to users of anyreport that contains SEA publication was prepared by a group of dedicated individuals who as a team have devoted theirprofessional lives to improved public accountability. Paul Epstein of Epstein & Fass Associates served as thelead author, with significant input from Jay Fountain, a consultant to the GASB and former GASB assistantdirector of research, and Wilson Campbell, GASB project manager.

4 GASB research manager Terry Pattonand Epstein & Fass research assistant Kimberly Keaton also contributed to the GASB Efforts to encourage voluntary experimentation with external reports of SEA performancemeasures have been generously supported by contributions from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This publicationis another major step in the GASB staff s research, which is expected to culminate in a recommendation tothe Board on future project directions in late 2006. The continued Efforts by state and local governments toexpand the use of external SEA reporting will increase the body of knowledge available on which to basethat recommendation. More importantly, the wider use of SEA reports will enhance the accountability ofthose governments that issue those 2005 David R.

5 BeanNorwalk, ConnecticutDirector of Research andTechnical ActivitiesivvPREFACEThis guide to understanding Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) performance reports by state andlocal governments is the result of work performed as part of the continuing GASB research project on major component of that research was the 2003 publication of a set of sixteen suggested criteria that haveprovided a basis for more extensive experimentation with the external reporting of SEA performanceinformation that will communicate relevant, reliable information about the results of Government programsand services to elected officials, citizens, and other the GASB published the suggested criteria.

6 A number of state and local governments around thecountry have been experimenting using the suggested criteria, and a growing number of new SEA performancereports have been issued. The GASB appreciates the willingness of state and local governments to participatein the GASB s ongoing research into SEA performance reporting. As part of the GASB s Efforts to encourageand assist with that experimentation, this publication was developed primarily to help readers become informedconsumers of SEA performance reports that are prepared using, to some degree, the suggested main feature of this publication is a user s tour of an SEA performance report to help readersunderstand what they are likely to find in a report , and how to use the information to assess a Government guide takes a reader through the features of state or local Government SEA performance reports byasking a series of questions such as: Where should I begin?

7 How can I find the information that mostinterests me? How can I tell what the Government is trying to achieve and how well it is achieving it? Howcan I get a better view of performance for issues or services that most interest me? What else do I needknow? We point out that the best way to learn to use a SEA performance report is to focus on items thatinterest guide also provides an overall context for Government SEA performance reporting to help readersunderstand the reasons for reporting on performance and how to use SEA performance information, a list ofthe suggested criteria and other good practices, and where to find more information including performanceinformation available on the Internet from governments cited in this from recent SEA performance reports are provided to illustrate key points, with explanations ofhow to use the information.

8 There is no standard order or format for public performance reports, and not allreports meet all suggested criteria. So an SEA performance report on a Government of interest to you maynot have all the features described here, or may have them in a different order or arranged in a differentway. We hope the examples that are included in this publication will help you understand and use almost anygovernment s performance report , in whatever order you encounter features described are grateful to the external reviewers who provided valuable input to us during development of theguide. In addition, the guide would not have been possible without the assistance of the GASB staff.

9 Specialthanks go to Dean Mead, Ellen Falk, and Patti Waterbury and to the Production department for the countlesshours they spent in organizing and editing this S. CampbellJames R. FountainviviiCONTENTSPageNumberPART ONE. performance : More Than Financial statements: important, but insufficient to completely assess a Government sachievement of its goals ..2 Potential Users of State and Local Government SEA performance Reports ..3 What You Will Find in This Guide ..3 SEA performance Reports Can Convey What Government for SEA performance reports by governments of interest to you ..4 SEA performance Information and Managing for for results: a basic performance reporting as part of managing for of the GASB-Suggested Criteria for SEA performance Reporting.

10 6 PART TWO. UNDERSTANDING AND USING AN SEA performance report ..7A User s Tour of an SEA performance report ..7 Where should I begin?..8 How can I find the information that most interests me? ..11 How can I tell what the Government is trying to achieve and how well it is achieving it? ..15 How can I get a better view of performance for issues or services that most interest me? ..18 What else do I need to know? ..32 The Best Way to Learn to Use an SEA performance report Is to Focus on ItemsThat Interest You ..36 APPENDIX A. THE SUGGESTED CRITERIA AND OTHER GOOD PRACTICES ..37 Development of the Suggested Criteria ..37 The Suggested Criteria for Effective Communication of performance external report on performance information.