Governmental Accounting in Spain and the European Monetary Union: A Critical Perspective
During the last twenty-five years, the changes in Spanish accounting have been radical and significant, especially since 1986 when Spain joined the European Union. Those changes were first introduced in business accounting, following the patterns of the Fourth Directive, but governmental accounting has also been affected by structural reforms that have modified the financial reporting system, the accounting standards and the accounting principles to be applied. However, the governmental accounting system needs further improvement, particularly given the EMU framework and the relationship between governmental accounting and national accounting.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING IN SPAIN
This paper provides an analysis of the present situation concerning local government accounting in Spain following recent reforms introduced in the early nineties. It presents a picture of the main features of Spanish local finance—budgeting and accounting, the measurement focus, and the basis of accounting—and analyses the financial reporting system adopted by Spanish municipalities. This is followed by a critical review of several weak points in the reform which in the author's view will encourage further developments.