Increasing the Efficacy and Efficiency of Accounting and Control Systems in the Department of Defense.
讨论了联邦政府（特别是国防部）中阻碍会计与控制系统效能和效率提升的普遍特征，指出私营部门方法不能直接移植，并提出了合理目标和关键成功因素。
Abstract This article discusses the general characteristics of the federal government that mitigate directly against creating a more effective and efficient accounting and control systems. A more effective and efficient use of resources is a common theme today in both the private and public sector. It is not clear to us, however, that the methods for creating efficacy and efficiency in the private sector are directly transferable (or even adaptable) to the public sector. In this commentary we discuss the general characteristics of the federal government that mitigate directly against creating more effective and efficient accounting and control systems. Our specific focus is the Department of Defense. We present fundamental differences among the military services that could impact proposed changes. We provide an example of a system that was implemented across the military services. Finally, we discuss some reasonable goals for increasing efficacy and efficiency and some factors critical to achieving success. The characteristics of the military services and of accounting and control systems in the federal environment can inhibit orderly and necessary change. Systems or proposals for systems that ignore these characteristics are usually not successful. However, designing a system to function within the constraints imposed by these interdependent characteristics, although not a trivial problem, can result in increases in efficacy and efficiency.