Finance officers need to provide leadership, report says.

Only a third of government finance leaders believe they have the financial management abilities they need to address the fiscal challenges ahead, according to "Mastering Finance in Government," a report by Deloitte Research. The report, based on a recent survey of senior officials with 200 government organizations globally, identified several areas that finance officers should consider.

First, significant gaps exist between finance capabilities and government needs. Of the finance officers surveyed, 69 percent said they do not have timely, reliable, and accurate data to use in making decisions. Also, 63 percent said program managers do not understand the total cost of their services. A little more than half of respondents said their organizations do not understand the relationship between investments made in programs and the outcomes of those programs. And only 27 percent said their organization's risk management was adequate.

The second major finding was that few finance functions do well with the four roles they are now called on to perform. These roles are: protecting and preserving the organization's assets; ensuring "prudent use of resources by standardizing, consolidating...