Comparative Issues in Local Government Accounting


Book Description

In recent years there have been a number of significant reforms in local government accounting practices around the world. While the specific reasons for these changes vary, a common factor is the increasing need for governments to measure the efficacy and efficiency of their performance. Nowhere is this trend more apparent than at the local government level. This book aims to give a comparative international perspective on local government accounting innovations, and offers specific cases involving different economic, political and cultural conditions. Countries receiving extended treatment include Belgium, China, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Together, the essays offer a state-of-the-art take on these issues and identify key issues for future research.




Financial Sustainability and Intergenerational Equity in Local Governments


Book Description

Due to the mortgage crisis of 2008, laws aimed at achieving budgetary and financial stability were enacted. The concept of ?nancial sustainability has been linked to the need of rendering public services without compromising the ability to do so in the future. Financial Sustainability and Intergenerational Equity in Local Governments is a critical scholarly resource that analyzes the financial sustainability of local governments with the aim of ensuring equality and intergenerational equity. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as intergenerational equity, public policies, and sustainability management, this book is geared towards government officials, managers, academicians, practitioners, students, and researchers seeking current research on identifying public policies to ensure financial balance.




Finanzas municipales


Book Description

Desde Detroit hasta Lahore, la mayoría de las ciudades del mundo enfrentan problemas financieros, y aun así se espera que lleven a cabo sus funciones cada vez más complejas. Finanzas municipales - Manual para los gobiernos locales toma partido. Se pone del lado de los alcaldes y de los responsables de los asuntos municipales. Son escasas las publicaciones sobre este tema dirigidas tan directa y pragmáticamente a las autoridades decisorias y al personal financiero a nivel local. El contenido y los mensajes principales procuran responder a las inquietudes y a las cuestiones que enfrentan diariamente las ciudades y los municipios en la administración de sus finanzas. Finanzas municipales - Manual para los gobiernos locales asume una posición. En ocho capítulos, en esta obra se pasa revista a las lecciones aprendidas sobre relaciones intergubernamentales; finanzas de las áreas metropolitanas; gestión financiera, de los ingresos, de los gastos y de los activos públicos; financiamiento externo, y medición del desempeño de las finanzas municipales. Abarca temas tales como la descentralización, la transparencia y la rendición de cuentas, y aborda temas menos explorados como la gestión de activos, la capacidad crediticia, la respuesta frente a crisis financieras y los mecanismos de presentación de informes a los diversos niveles de gobierno y a la ciudadanía. Finanzas municipales - Manual para los gobiernos locales hace un llamado a la acción. No solo aporta conocimientos de avanzada en muchas cuestiones técnicas, sino que también guía a los gobiernos locales en el laberinto de los instrumentos existentes. En particular, la autoevaluación de las finanzas municipales que se propone en el capítulo 8 debería ayudar a los municipios a evaluar su propia situación y a avanzar en la senda de las reformas.










Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Inequality


Book Description

This book hopes to stimulate discussion about how entrepreneurship and innovation contribute to growing inequalities in territories. This will help bridge the gap between research and practice on the role of territory dynamics and regional development. The book begins by examining the growing inequality in regions, which has resulted in lagging economic development. The need to shift current economic policy towards spatial inequality through harnessing the innovative capabilities of regions is examined. The book puts forth a case for reversing the inequality that is evident in lagging regions as a way to reinvigorate territories. The book should appeal to researchers, policy makers, business leaders and the general public interested in territorial dynamics and development.




Open Government: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications


Book Description

Open government initiatives have become a defining goal for public administrators around the world. As technology and social media tools become more integrated into society, they provide important frameworks for online government and community collaboration. However, progress is still necessary to create a method of evaluation for online governing systems for effective political management worldwide. Open Government: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a vital reference source that explores the use of open government initiatives and systems in the executive, legislative, and judiciary sectors. It also examines the use of technology in creating a more affordable, participatory, and transparent public-sector management models for greater citizen and community involvement in public affairs. Highlighting a range of topics such as data transparency, collaborative governance, and bureaucratic secrecy, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for government officials, leaders, practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and academicians seeking current research on open government initiatives.




International Public Financial Management Reform


Book Description

This book is intended to give readers detailed information and perspectives on the reform of financial management reform practices in a variety of national settings around the world. The chapters explore the reform agenda in each nation and factors that stimulated change. Each chapter addresses the extent of the influence of "New Public Management" concepts and practices on reform implementation. The nations whose experience is represented in this book are among the most often cited examples of progressive change to be examined and perhaps emulated by governments in other nations. In the introductory chapter the editors address the question whether and to what extent the financial management reforms detailed in the book reveal real progress or a progression of questions and dilemmas faced but not solved over the past several decades.




Public Sector Accounting and Auditing in Europe


Book Description

The book provides an overview of the governmental accounting status quo in Europe by analysing the public sector accounting, budgeting and auditing systems in fourteen European countries. IT sheds light on the challenges faced by European countries as they move towards adoption of the European Public Sector Accounting Standards (EPSAS).