The clinical accountable team.

This paper examines an experiment in an unusual method of accounting and budgeting, and discusses its implications to clinicians. Clinical teams were made responsible for their own expenditure. They were supplied with a breakdown of their expenditure and a budget based on previous expenditure. Each team, at its own discretion, could use savings made from reducing expenditure in one sphere to provide unrelated services. Reduced expenditure was achieved and new projects started.