KEEPING AN EYE ON THE GOVERNMENT'S OWN COSTS
AN INTRODUCTION TO ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT TECHNIQUES
HM Treasury
1996
James Burnell-Nugent
Commodore (on secondment from the Royal Navy)
This booklet describes techniques to analyse and assess the costs of Government. It is meant to be helpful in particular to members of Treasury Spending Teams, especially those who have no previous experience of this area of activity. It is written primarily for those who are challenging this type of cost, with a view to establishing the right level of administrative expenditure in relation to output.
The techniques and styles of analysis suggested should also be of value to those in Departments, Agencies or Non Departmental Government Bodies who are concerned with the tight control of the costs of delivering their own programmes. I hope therefore that readers across Government will also find this booklet useful. The quality of debate and understanding between the challenger and the challenged should be enhanced through the techniques which are described.
The booklet has three sections:
Section 1 - Some Principles. This section outlines principles and definitions.
Section 2 - Analysis and Assessment. This section offers suggestions on techniques for the analysis and assessment of the Government’s own costs.
Section 3 - Early Warning. This section offers techniques for early detection of significant problems in the delivery of Government programmes.
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