Many academics and practitioners value professional training and certification programs as important ways to improve management practice and organizational performance. However, these programs often are among the first cutback targets in times of fiscal stress. Evidence that documents the actual impacts of specialized training and certification on public organizational performance is sparse. This longitudinal panel study examines the effects of a state-mandated Certified Municipal Finance Officer program on cities’ financial management performance and finds that the program had a statistically significant independent impact on the observed reduction in the number of annual outside audit findings. The program’s impact on improved financial management performance underscores the need for scholars to evaluate similar programs, the results from which may help to alter public officials’ cutback calculus and restore public confidence in the public service.
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. 2018. Generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). Washington, DC: Auditing Standards Board.
2.
AmmonsDavid N.NewellCharldean. 1989. City executives: Leadership roles, work characteristics, and time management. Albany: State University of New York Press.
3.
AndrewsRhysBoyneGeorge A.. 2010. Capacity, leadership, and organizational performance: Testing the black box model of public management. Public Administration Review70:443–54.
4.
BanCarolynFaermanSue R.. 1990. Issues in the evaluation of management training. Public Productivity & Management Review13:271–86.
BeckNathanielKatzJonathan N.. 1995. What to do (and not to do) with time-series cross-section data. American Political Science Review89:634–47.
7.
BrintnallMichael. 1998. Seeking quality in training public financial managers: The place for certification. Public Budgeting & Finance18:3–9.
8.
BrysonJohn M.2004. Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. 3rd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
9.
BrysonJohn M.AckermannFranEdenColin. 2007. Putting the resource-based view of strategy and distinctive competencies to work in public organizations. Public Administration Review67:702–17.
10.
CarrJered B.2015. What have we learned about the performance of council-manager government? A review and synthesis of the research. Public Administration Review75:673–89.
11.
ClarkeWesBlandRobert L.. 1998. The university’s role in credentialing the public finance officer. Public Budgeting & Finance18:10–17.
12.
ClingermayerJames C.FeiockRichard C.. 2001. Institutional constraints and policy choice. New York: SUNY Press.
13.
Comptroller General. 2018. Governmental Auditing Standards (Yellow Book). Washington, DC: Government Publishing Office. https://www.gao.gov/assets/590/587281.pdf(accessed February 6, 2018).
14.
ConantJames K.1993. Management education and training in the states: The fiscal, administrative, and political dimensions of policy options. State and Local Government Review25:173–85.
FeiockRichard C.JeongMoon-GiKimJaehoon. 2003. Credible commitment and council-manager government: Implications for policy instrument choices. Public Administration Review63:616–25.
18.
FolzDavid H.AbdelrazekReem. 2009. Professional management and service levels in small U.S. communities. American Review of Public Administration39:553–69.
19.
HaHyunsangFeiockRichard C.. 2012. Bargaining, networks, and management of municipal development subsidies. American Review of Public Administration42:481–97.
20.
HaysSteven W.DukeBruce. 1996. Professional certification in public management: A status report and proposals. Public Administration Review56:425–32.
21.
HildrethW. Bartley. 1998. Should there be an accreditation program for finance and budget offices?Public Budgeting & Finance18:18–27.
22.
IngrahamPatricia W.JoycePhillipDonahueAmy. 2003. Governance performance: Why management matters. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
23.
JamesOliver. 2011. Performance measures and democracy: Information effects on citizens in field and laboratory experiments. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory21:399–418.
24.
JamesOliverMoseleyAlice. 2014. Does performance information about public services affect citizens’ perceptions, satisfaction, and voice behavior? Field experiments with absolute and relative performance information. Public Administration92:493–511.
25.
JonesGarth. 1985. Credentialing public managers: Cost of amateurs too high. Public Administration Quarterly9:55–83.
26.
KennedyPeter. 2005. Oh no! I got the wrong sign! What should I do?Journal of Economic Education36:77–92.
27.
KimJunghackMcDonaldBruceLeeJooho. 2018. The nexus of state and local capacity in vertical policy diffusion. American Review of Public Administration48:188–200.
28.
KirkpatrickDonald L.KirkpatrickJames D.. 2006. Evaluating training programs: The four levels. 3rd ed. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
29.
KrebsTimothy B.PelisseroJohn P.. 2010. Urban managers and public policy. Urban Affairs Review45:391–411.
30.
McDonaldBruce D.2010. The bureau of municipal research and the development of a professional public service. Administration and Society42:815–35.
31.
McDonaldBruce D.2018. Local governance and the issue of fiscal health. State and Local Government Review50:1–10.
32.
MosherFrederick C.1968. Democracy and the public service. New York: Oxford University Press.
33.
NewellCharldeanAmmonsDavid N.. 1987. Role emphases of city managers and other municipal executives. Public Administration Review47:246–53.
34.
OwensPatrick L.Jr, 2006. One more reason not to cut your training budget: The relationship between training and organizational outcomes. Public Personnel Management35: 163–72.
SeidleBrettFernandezSergioPerryJames L.. 2016. Do leadership training and development make a difference in the public sector? A panel study. Public Administration Review76:603–13.
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. 2017. Certified population of 0054ennessee incorporated municipalities and counties. https://www.tnecd.com/research-and-data/publications/(accessed April 15, 2017).
44.
TepalagulNopmaneeLinLing. 2015. Auditor independence and audit quality: A literature review. Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance30:101–21.
WooldridgeJeffery M. 2010. Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
49.
WolfJames F.BryanTara Kolar. 2009. Identifying the capacities of regional councils of government. State and Local Government Review41:61–68.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
