Description
TitleA vision of an ENHanced ANalytic Constituent Environment
Date Created2016
Other Date2016-05 (degree)
Extent1 online resource (x, 211 p. : ill.)
DescriptionConstituent demands for improved transparency in governmental reporting have been increasing since the recent (2008-2009) financial crisis in the U.S. that impacted the financial well-being of a number of governmental entities at both state and local levels. Since that time several governmental entities in the U.S. have launched open data portals. But to-date these initiatives do not incorporate robust analytic capabilities to satisfy constituent inquiries. The purpose of this research is to present an ENHanced ANalytic Constituent Environment (ENHANCE) framework, facilitated by open government data, that fulfills the analytic requirements of the various governmental stakeholders, such as citizens, analysts, bond investors, creditors, vendors, auditors, and oversight officials. The first step in introducing this analytic capability is the availability of open governmental data, ideally presented in a standardized and easily usable format. The second step is that of providing a series of analytic ‘apps’ that can provide meaningful information to the entity’s stakeholders. The third step is the development of the ENHANCE framework within which apps can function, acting upon the standardized government data, to support constituent analytic requirements. A fourth step encompasses developing an ecosystem to provide additional feature and function to the user interaction with ENHANCE and support ENHANCE in the evolving environment in which it operates. This research contributes to academic literature by proposing an ENHanced ANalytic Constituent Environment (ENHANCE) framework where governmental stakeholders can create reports on demand to satisfy their analytic requirements. The concept of a robust analytic tool that provides meaningful analyses over open data is presented in this paper within the context of open government expenditure data. The ENHANCE concept provides capabilities to support an ‘armchair auditor’ activity (O’Leary, 2015). This research describes the concept of an audit ecosystem, that is, a natural progression in the deployment of computer-based CA/CM tools. An initial definition for an audit ecosystem is provided, stated at this point as a holistic approach to the design and development of a technology-driven framework to provide overall management and control of the audit technology components employed, and coordination of the activities of the participants involved. It is feasible that an ecosystem tailored to embellish and support ENHANCE capabilities can be developed and deployed. This paper provides a background on Design Science Research Methodology and describes the initial work undertaken using DSRM to drive the design and development of the ENHANCE framework, the app recommender system which comprises a significant technical part of the framework, and an audit ecosystem. In addition, this research provides a literature review of current practices with respect to open data initiatives and transparency in government financial reporting.
NotePh.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Noteby Stephen Kozlowski
Genretheses, ETD doctoral
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - Newark Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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