The Treasury document provides significant
support to the Office’s claims of expertise. It specifies
that departments’ measures of performance
should meet the standards proposed by the Office
in Government Accountability. The Office’s claims
of expertise are further legitimized when Treasury
quotes the Office’s definition of the key notion of
accountability, and the Office’s views regarding
the benefits of performance measurement:
‘‘The moment that managers start measuring
performance, it will improve. As soon as performance
is reported, it improves further.
We know that measuring and reporting performance
will save a great deal of money and
improve service.’’ Alberta Auditor General
(cited in Alberta Treasury, 1996, p. 8)