Executive Summary
Performance measurement is a critical process in the strategy implementation phase of an organization. To mitigate financial losses or reputation damage, management controls must influence
employees’ behaviours in a desirable way to ensure employees’ actions are aligned with the objectives of the organization.
In not-for-profit organizations and the public sector, it is used by management and those charged
with governance to understand why a program is, or is not, achieving its desired outcome. These
particular organizations face unique challenges in management control and performance measurement when compared to for-profit entities, such as personnel competence and motivation,
conflict between constituents, resource constraints, goal ambiguity, and external pressure from
the media and general public on how resources are being distributed.
With the public’s heightened sensitivity, independent, objective third party assurance over performance measurement will be highly valued and demanded in this particular sector. With a
strong governing body overseeing the CPA profession, these assurance services will be of higher
quality than advice from non-CPA consulting firms that are biased to work in the company’s best
interest, instead of objectively. If this high quality can permit a price premium, these services
could be a lucrative venture for CPA firms.
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