Glossary

Terms beginning with A

accountable (person)

Common glossary definition

Someone who is accountable is required and expected to justify actions or decisions to a person or body with greater authority, from whom the accountability has been formally assigned.

Note: accountabilities can be tiered such that there is a hierarchy of accountabilities, with a higher-level having overall accountability over lower-level accountabilities.

Note: an accountable person usually has associated formally delegated authority for their actions and decisions, such as through delegated letters.

accounting officer

Common glossary definition

A person appointed by the Treasury or designated by a department to be accountable for the operations of an organisation and the preparation of its accounts. The appointee is the head of a department or other organisation or the Chief Executive of a non-departmental public body (NDPB) or other arm’s length body.

arm’s length body

Common glossary definition

Central government bodies that carry out discrete functions on behalf of departments, but which are controlled or owned by them. They include executive agencies, non-departmental public bodies, and government-owned companies.

assessment framework (continuous improvement)

Common glossary definition

In the context of government standards, an assessment framework defines levels of maturity against the most important aspects of the corresponding standard, to make it easy for organisations to understand how well they are meeting the standard, and what practices they should aim to improve.

asset (property)

Common glossary definition

Tangible fixed assets in the form of land, buildings or related equipment, owned or controlled by government, with the expectation of present or future benefit.

assumption

An unknown that is taken as being a fact.

Note: an assumption is made when something is unknown or not yet decided and is taken to be true for the purposes of planning, but which could change later.

Note: assumptions can be treated as risks.

assurance

Common glossary definition

A general term for the confidence that can be derived from objective information over the successful conduct of activities, the efficient and effective design and operation of internal control, compliance with internal and external requirements, and the production of insightful and credible information to support decision-making. Confidence diminishes when there are uncertainties around the integrity of information or of underlying processes.