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factors for the success of a policy; without
implementation, public policy will be mere
documentation, and therefore oversight is an integral
part of the management of state or regional finances
(Sukrisno, 2005).
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
According to Wasistiono (2003), public services
relate to the provision of services either by
government, private parties on behalf of the
government, or private parties to the public, with or
without payment, in order to meet the needs and
interests of the community. Public services can
therefore be interpreted as providing services to, or
serving the needs of, people or communities who
have an interest in the organization, in accordance
with rules and procedures that have been
established.
Public accountability is the obligation of an
agent holder to provide accountability through
presenting, reporting, and disclosing all activities
and actions to the principal, who has the right and
authority to ask for accountability (Mardiasmo,
2002, p. 20),
According to Andrianto (2007, p. 20),
transparency means real and thorough openness as
well as providing space to all levels of the
community so that they can actively participate in
the process of managing public resources. When
linked to budgets, transparency can be defined as an
openness to communities that includes government
functions and structures, fiscal policy objectives, and
the projections of the public finance sector.
The oversight process relates to the empowered
and effective monitoring, inspection, and evaluation
by the leadership of a unit or organization of work
activities or programs in order to determine
weakness or deficiencies; by so doing, such issues
can be improved by authorities higher up the ladder
so as to achieve previously formulated goals
(Nawawi, 1994, p. 8).
Value for Money (VFM) is an important concept
in public sector organizations. According to
Andrianto (2007, p. 89), the concept of VFM relates
to an appreciation of money, in that every currency
should be properly valued and used as efficiently as
possible. Mardiasmo (2002, p. 4) maintains that
VFM, as a concept of public sector organizational
management, is based on three main elements:
economy, efficiency, and effectiveness, while VFM
is at the core of performance measurement in
government organizations. In this sense, government
performance cannot be judged on the output side
only, but inputs, outputs, and outcomes must be
considered holistically.
3 RESEARCH METHODS
This research utilized a causal-associative research
method, which intended to test hypotheses relating
to the relationship between two or more variables. In
this regard, the present research tested hypotheses
for the relationship between four variables:
Accountability, Transparency, Oversight, and the
Value for Money Budget Management Concept.
3.1 Population and Samples
The population for this research was 104 civil
servants working at the Financial and Regional
Assets Management Agency (Badan Pengelola
Keuangan dan Aset Daerah) of Kendari
Municipality.
The sampling technique used in this research was
purposive sampling, in which a group of subjects is
chosen based on certain characteristics considered to
have a close relationship with the characteristics of a
population that are known beforehand (Margono,
2004, p. 128).
The criteria specified in determining the sample
were: a) civil servants; b) period of work ≥ 2 years;
and c) 71 people who were competent in the field
they handled.
3.2 Operational Definition
The operational definition of a variable is based on
the observable characteristics of that variable. The
operational definition of the variables in this
research are as follows:
3.2.1 Accountability (X1)
Accountability relates to the obligation of a person
or an organizational unit to account for the
management and control of resources and the
implementation of entrusted policies in order to
achieve the objectives or goals that have been set out
in the planning document through the form of
periodic accountability.
3.2.2 Transparency (X2)
Transparency is a principle that ensures public
access or freedom to obtain information relating to
JCAE Symposium 2018 – Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics Symposium 2018 on Special Session for Indonesian Study
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