The Public Value Pyramid as a Possible Framework for Public Value Accounting

Abstract

Public value (PV) measurement in public, private, and hybrid organisations can quantify the balanced increased level of multidimensional well-being of a specific community in a certain period, making it visible and manageable. Although different views on the possibility of measuring PV remain, a specific methodology to measure and account the PV created has not been enough investigated in the literature. This research aims to contribute to the debate regarding methodological drawbacks when we embed impact indicators in management accounting systems for PV measurement and accounting. The framework of the PV pyramid can help to systematise dimensions of tangible and intangible assets, performances, and impacts towards the horizon of PV through the definition of appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs are aggregated in composite indices (CIs) which aim to synthesise a complex phenomenon through a single measure. This chapter relies on a single case study methodology for PV calculation represented by an important Italian Zooprophylactic Institute.3 The contribution of this chapter lies in the conceptualisation of a managerial tool that enables policymakers and managers to visualise and quantify the different dimensions of performance or impacts through composite indicators that account for the created PV. In this sense, the PV pyramid can serve as the starting point of performance planning, which is aimed at the PV creation, and the ending point for its measurement. Finally, the PV pyramid may be also relevant for citizens, and other stakeholders, helping to improve the level of accountability of organisations.

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