Public Attitudes Toward Government
Accountability and Transparency 2010
In January
2010, the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) commissioned a
study by leading market research firm Harris Interactive®,
to conduct the first in a series of annual surveys of public
attitudes to government transparency and accountability. The
objective of this first survey was to establish a baseline
understanding of public attitudes, concerning transparency and
accountability progress—or the lack of it—which could be tracked
annually. A secondary objective was to use the survey findings to
raise the profile of this important issue and help to drive
understanding of it among policymakers, government employees and the
public.
The survey
was commissioned as part of AGA’s flagship Advancing Government
Accountability campaign, which will educate government and the
public on the benefits of increased government accountability and
transparency and provide practical programs relating to the
education of government financial managers and the reporting of
government financial information. The survey findings are a
significant contribution toward increased public understanding of
the issue, which AGA sees as a vital jumping-off point for reform.
AGA believes
that the importance to a healthy democracy of efficient reporting of
government financial information is difficult to overstate. Without
accurate fiscal information, delivered regularly, in an
easily-understandable format, citizens lack the knowledge they need
to interact with—and cast informed votes for—their leaders. In this
regard, a lack of government accountability and transparency
undermines democracy and gives rise to cynicism and mistrust.
This result
is reflected in the survey findings, which reveal deep
dissatisfaction among the American public with both the availability
of government financial information and the way it is delivered to
the people. Much of this dissatisfaction has to do with issues of
trust and a gap between what the public expects and what is actually
delivered. The survey also captured information relating to how the
public would use fiscal information, were it provided to them in a
usable form.
We encourage
you to review the information attached to this second annual survey.
Questions?
Contact Jennifer I. Curtin, MPA,
Director of Public Affairs, AGA at 800.AGA.7211, ext. 340.