It's hard to miss the symbolism of the Treasury's recent appointment of Mary Keegan as managing director, financial management, reporting and audit. As chairman of the Accounting Standards Board, Keegan has been at the forefront of accounting standard-setting for the business world. Her recruitment to the public sector therefore exemplifies the government's determination to commercialise its financial framework and accounting processes and become more aligned to the rest of the economy. A revolution in government accounting systems began in 1995, when the decision was taken to replace the traditional cash-based system with a more commercial-style resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) system. Resource accounting is accruals-based and intended to provide parliament with more timely financial information, and with a much fuller picture of departments' financial activity than previously. This initiative was fully completed in April last year.
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