Suchergebnisse

Lorsqu'ils font rapport à Eurostat à des fins d'évaluation du déficit, les États membres de l'Union européenne suivent les règles des comptes nationaux (CN), en particulier le système européen des comptes nationaux et régionaux. Les informations déclarées proviennent cependant de la comptabilité publique (CP), c'est-à-dire des rapports budgétaires. Plusieurs adaptations s'imposent dès lors lorsque l'on traduit des données de la CP dans les CN, notamment des adaptations concernant la méthode comptable – dans certains pays, l'équilibre budgétaire de la CP est déjà basé sur la comptabilité d'exercice, tandis que dans d'autres, il est encore basé sur la comptabilité de caisse. Dans la présente étude, nous entendons analyser les adaptations qui découlent des différentes méthodes comptables adoptées dans la CP et les CN, illustrer leur diversité et leur importance, ainsi que les conséquences pour la fiabilité des déficits/excédents des États membres de l'Union européenne. Nous analysons les adaptations caisse/exercice à réaliser dans les données du gouvernement central sur la base de quelques pays de l'UE et de données extraites des notifications liées à la procédure concernant les déficits excessifs (PDE) relatives aux années 2005 à 2010. Les principales observations indiquent que les adaptations relevant de la comptabilité de caisse-d'exercice sont plus variées et sont en général importantes par rapport au déficit/à l'excédent final, dans les pays qui adoptent encore les rapports budgétaires basés sur la comptabilité de caisse dans la CP, ce qui soulève des questions concernant la fiabilité du déficit/de l'excédent dont ils font état. Remarques à l'intention des praticiens Le présent article vise à mieux comprendre les différences dans les méthodes comptables dans le cadre du processus de convergence entre la CP et les CN, afin de permettre l'établissement de rapports budgétaires plus fiables et plus instructifs, d'un point de vue aussi bien local que général. Nous verrons à quel point il est important de passer d'une comptabilité de caisse à une comptabilité d'exercice, à savoir dans la comptabilité budgétaire et les systèmes d'information comptable. La diversité et l'importance des adaptations au niveau des méthodes comptables sont des points de départ importants pour la mise en place d'un cadre commun permettant de faire face à ces adaptations, et ces éléments sont à prendre en considération par les décideurs, en particulier ceux chargés de la normalisation comptable et les agences statistiques.

The objective of this research is to analyze whether the political-ideological situation of municipalities affects their debt level, considering evidence from Portugal for the period 2004-2013. A static panel data model is applied, incorporating factors such as political ideology, political-electoral cycle, governance format, coincidence of the political parties between Local Executive and Local Assembly and coincidence of the political parties between the Local Executive and Central Government. An additional variable to control the effects of the economic crisis between 2008 and 2010 is also considered. Based on the assumptions of the public choice theory, findings show a statistically significant relationship for the political-electoral cycle, allowing the conclusion that, given the evidence from Portuguese municipalities, debt increases in election years. Nevertheless, this is the only factor in the political-ideological circumstances that was found to be relevant in its effect on local authorities' debt levels. It is also clear that the financial crisis in the period 2008-2010 likewise had a positive impact. The paper contributes to the strengthening of the debate on the association between municipalities' political circumstances and debt, namely, in regards to strategic (electoral) debt cycles in local government. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

When reporting to Eurostat for the purpose of deficit assessment, EU member states follow National Accounts (NA) rules, specifically the European System of National and Regional Accounts. However, the information reported is gathered from Governmental Accounting (GA), namely budgetary reporting. Consequently, several adjustments are needed when translating data from GA into NA, including those concerning the accounting basis – in some countries GA budgetary balance is already accrual-based while in others it is still cash-based. This research aims to analyse adjustments derived from different accounting bases adopted in GA and NA, demonstrating their diversity and materiality and the consequences for EU member states' deficit/surplus reliability. It analyses cash-accrual adjustments to be made in Central Government data, using a few EU countries and data from the respective Excessive Deficit Procedure notifications covering the years 2005 to 2010. The main findings show that cash-accrual adjustments are more diverse and tend to be material in relation to the final deficit/surplus, in countries still adopting cash-based budgetary reporting in GA, raising questions concerning the reliability of the deficit/surplus they report. Points for practitioners This article contributes to a better understanding of the accounting basis differences for the convergence process between GA and NA, allowing for more reliable and informative budgetary reporting to be reached from both micro and macro perspectives. It highlights how important it is that GA moves from cash to accruals, namely concerning budgetary accounting and reporting systems. The diversity and materiality of accounting basis adjustments are important starting points for the development of a common framework to deal with these adjustments, and this is to be learned by policy-makers, especially accounting standard-setters and statistics agencies.

In order to keep local public finances balanced, in many countries, measures restraining and controlling debt have been implemented. In Portugal such concerns have been considered too. Accordingly, several legal diplomas have been passed, namely local finances laws, defining rules, mainly related to limits and restrictions to interest, repayments of borrowings, as well as net debt level. Therefore, it should be expected that these legal restrictions would contribute to reduce municipal debt. Within this context, taking into consideration the institutional theory, particularly the coercive isomorphism perspective, this paper analyses the evolution of Portuguese municipalities' debt aiming at assessing whether institutional pressures consubstantiated in the legal framework meanwhile approved have led to a common behaviour for effectively reducing debt. A six-year period was considered (2004-2009) following a positive approach and quantitative methodology. Findings show that, during that period, contrary to what was expected, except for Açores region, municipalities in all other regions have increased their net debt levels. In summary, it may be observed that the introduction of restrictive measures to Portuguese municipalities' debt, during the analysed period, ceteris paribus, does not seem to have had the intended effects, i.e., debt reduction, hence raising questions about the effectiveness of legal control mechanisms.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the extent to which the perceived usefulness of financial information for internal decision making is affected by the internal control to which that information is subjected. Design/methodology/approach: The research is positivist and quantitative, based on a cross-sectional analysis developed in the local government context. Data were collected from a survey to decision makers (politicians and chief officials) in charge of the financial area in all Portuguese municipalities. The response rate was approximately 49 per cent, assuring representativeness. Findings: Regarding the perceived usefulness of financial and budgetary reporting for internal decision making, the results in the paper show that municipalities' internal users' attitudes towards using accrual-based financial reporting for decision making is changing. Additionally, internal decision makers consider financial and budgetary information as very useful for decision making, and the different types of internal control applicable to that information as very important. The results also clearly point to the existence of a significant and positive relationship between the internal control (including internal auditing) to which financial and budgetary information is subject, and its perceived usefulness for municipal decision making. Research limitations/implications: The main limitations of this study are related to the way in which information was collected in order to obtain empirical evidence. The questionnaire, sent by e-mail, despite reaching a wide-range and dispersed population, cannot guarantee the truthfulness and integrity of the responses. Findings might have been affected by the fact that respondents may have been sympathetic to the reforms brought by the Official Local Government Accounting Plan (POCAL). Certainly, politicians linked to the political party that promoted those reforms would be predisposed in this way. Another limitation might concern the fact that new laws and regulations passed after POCAL, might have somehow affected the answers regarding the perceived usefulness of budgetary and financial information for internal decision making, as well as the importance of the internal control to which that information is subject. Practical implications: The results of this study have important repercussions for the implementation of internal control systems at local government level. Particularly, they highlight the need to develop or improve internal control procedures to ensure budgetary and financial information reliability, which in turn determines its usefulness for decision-making purposes. Originality/value: This research makes a contribution to the (scarce) literature on the relationship between internal control and the perceived usefulness of financial and budgetary information for decision making, particularly in the local government setting. It adds with further empirical evidence concerning the relationship between these two issues, helping to reinforce previous embryonic research in this field. As to policy making, this research also contributes by calling attention for the need to define the types of internal control financial information must be subject, a critical issue while assuring the usefulness of that information for decision making. This is particular important in current contexts of countries moving towards IPSAS-based financial reporting systems. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This study aims to identify to what extent certain factors perceived by internal decision-makers (politi-cians and financial officials) influence the usefulness they consider the information presented in thefinancial reports of municipalities has for decision-making purposes.It follows a quantitative research approach at a first stage, using a questionnaire. At a second andcomplementary stage, it uses a qualitative research perspective, with interviews in a small group ofmunicipalities, which might be seen as case studies, in order to explore and understand the (external andinternal) contextual factors that determine the usefulness of the financial report in decision-making byinternal decision-makers.The main findings show that the pressure of professional organizations and of a national problem(external factors), as well as the lack of knowledge and training on the accounting information system(internal organizational factor) are factors that most influence the usefulness of the financial report forinternal decision-making. Qualitative analysis confirms these results, reinforcing a factor relating to awork overload.Two important implications of this study are the following: first, professional bodies and the financialsituation in the country; while stimulating informational needs by internal users in the public sectorthey determine the usefulness they offer to financial reporting for decision-making. Second, the lack ofknowledge of the accounting information system, especially by local politicians, is a hindering factor ofthe usefulness given to financial reporting for internal decision-making. Nowadays, when many countriesare considering reforms of public sector accounting in line with the International Public Sector AccountingStandards (IPSAS), supposedly increasing the sophistication

Literature on the field highlights that the usefulness for decision-making, of financial reporting prepared and disclosed by public entities, depends on several factors contextual to entities. This paper tries to identify the explanatory factors (internal and external) of the usefulness of financial reporting for decision-making by internal decision-makers (political and technical) of the Portuguese municipalities. The results show that the pressure of professional organisations and the pressure of a national problem (both external factors) as well as the lack of knowledge and proper training on the accounting information system (internal organisational factor) are the factors that most influence the usefulness of financial reporting. These results are also confirmed in the qualitative analysis, which reinforces the factor relating to work overload.