Global Public Sector
Executives and managers at all levels of government face the challenge of tight budgets and increased demands to raise performance, produce results and respond effectively to a fast-changing environment. Grant Thornton’s Global Public Sector group gives them creative, cost-effective solutions for business, financial, human capital and information technology solutions to help meet public sector challenges. Grant Thornton serves nearly all major departments and agencies in the U.S. federal and many in state and local governments. We work with Grant Thornton International Ltd member firms around the world on international development and public sector financial management.
Based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with offices in Alexandria, Virginia, Austin and San Antonio, Texas, and Sacramento, California, Global Public Sector practice provides distinctive client service to international and U.S. federal, state and local governments and development organizations. We offer the following services:
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The evolving state of offset arrangements in connection with military and other sales to foreign countries
Foreign governments have long required that U.S. companies providing military equipment or services to them offset the financial aspects of the purchase by entering into agreements that effectively return some portion of the value of the transaction to enterprises in their country. Offset agreements, now considered standard practice, may include a wide variety of forms. While the economic and other potential consequences of offset arrangements are of domestic concern, international attention regarding the effects of offsets has been growing in recent years as well. This article discusses both direct and indirect forms of offsets and explores their impact on U.S. companies.
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Meeting the Challenge and Improving ROI (AGA survey 2010)
The Association of Government Accountants (AGA), the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT) and Grant Thornton’s Global Public Sector practice have partnered again on an annual survey federal, state and local government financial professionals. The 16th Annual CFO Survey probes the views of 268 professionals, focusing on how they are meeting some of the challenges of the economic downturn. Topics include financial reporting, improving financial management, information technology, predictive analytics and risk management, human capital and reporting for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
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Financial management on the battlefield
Since 2003, the American Society of Military Comptrollers and Grant Thornton have joined together to survey Department of Defense and Uniformed Services financial executives and managers on their opinions of trends and prospects in financial management. The Annual Survey of Defense and Military Department Financial Management Executives provides important insights into the current state of financial management in and around the defense agencies. For the 2010 survey, more than one thousand defense financial executives and managers responded to questions on topics ranging from workforce management to leveraging the value of financial information.
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Progress in Public Financial Management Reform
This is the second survey conducted on behalf of the International Consortium of Governmental Financial Management. The survey was designed to provide insight into the experience of national governments engaged in improving the management of public resources--including efforts to make their finances more transparent and their financial information more useful to the management of public sector operations. Responses were gathered from 65 public sector officials hailing from 35 countries. It includes a discussion of reform activities in areas ranging from accounting and budget management to IT and procurement.
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Grant Thornton’s Survey of Federal Government Chief Human Capital Officers
As the mission of the federal government expands to meet 21st century challenges—from restructuring the financial industry and reforming health care to fighting terrorism—the public sector will need to hire hundreds of thousands of employees. Finding the right talent is critical. Grant Thornton and the non-profit Partnership for Public Service conducted the third annual survey of Chief Human Capital Officers, Closing the Gap: Seven Obstacles to a First Class Federal Workforce in 2010. The survey report is based on dozens of in-person interviews with human resource executives and offers insights on hiring reform, pay for performance, information technology, labor relations and the skills of the federal government’s HR workforce.
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Embracing Government 2.0 Leading Transformative Change in the Public Sector
Government 2.0 is driving a transformation in transparency, participation and collaboration. As a result, government leaders need greater clarity and direction and the most effective uses of Government 2.0 technologies. In this white paper, Grant Thornton LLP, along with Freebalance--a For Profit Social Enterprise (FOPSE) software company--provide an overview of key social collaboration concepts relevant to today’s leaders. Further, the report outlines the skills needed for government social collaboration, as well as proven approaches for moving organizations in a direction that will help them realize the benefits of social media – improved productivity, reduced costs and measured results.
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Twentieth Annual Survey of Federal CIOs: Transparency and Transformation through Technology
Grant Thornton and TechAmerica team up again on the 2010 survey, which covers such topics as cybersecurity; cloud computing, Web 2.0, social media, thin client, green IT and other emerging technologies; the IT workforce, performance management and accountability, and acquisition reform and sourcing; and the effect on federal CIOs of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.
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State CIO survey
Grant Thornton has joined forces with the National Association of State Chief Information Officers and TechAmerica to survey state and territorial CIOs or their equivalents on their most challenging issues -- from tight budgets to the continual flow of new technologies. Results are based on the responses of 40 participants, or about three-fourths of eligible jurisdictions. The 39-question survey topics ranging from budgeting to emerging technologies.
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Acquisition in Transition (2008 PSC procurement policy survey)
In this fourth biennial Procurement Policy Survey, the Professional Services Council and Grant Thornton LLP interviewed 28 government acquisition professionals, including senior procurement executives, front-line contracting professionals and congressional staff. The survey focuses on current challenges and successes and advice to the new presidential administration. Respondents identified workforce issues as the number one challenge for the new administration. They also pointed to a more holistic approach to oversight as a critical objective. Many suggested that there be a moratorium on "new initiatives" to give recently implemented ones a chance to demonstrate value.
