The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 requires all federal agencies to establish strategic plans and develop methods for measuring the performance of the strategic initiatives. In other words, federal agencies must implement a strategic- based responsibility accounting system. One possibility that is being explored for satisfying this mandate is the use of the Balanced Scorecard. This strategic management approach has been successfully used in the private sector. However, in governmental settings, outcomes are based on mission success rather than financial success. This fundamental difference creates a number of interesting questions:

• Can the Balanced Scorecard be adapted to fit a governmental setting?
• If so, how is it adapted (i.e., what are the changes)?
• Are there any successful applications of the Balanced Scorecard in state, local, or federal government agencies?
• What are examples of core measures? Of lead indicators?
• What are the desired characteristics of measures in the government sector?
• What are the limitations or weaknesses of this approach for this setting?

Required

Search the Internet to obtain information that will allow you to answer the above questions. You might start with the Balanced Scorecard Institute, whose website is available in the chapter web links at www.thomsonedu.com/accounting/hansen. The Balanced Scorecard Institute is a nonprofit source of information about applications of the Balanced Scorecard in government. Its mission is to serve as a web clearing- house for government managers to exchange information, ideas, and lessons learned in building strategic management systems using the Balanced Scorecard approach.