Local Government Financial Reporting

Academic Paper from the year 2016 in the subject Economics - Finance, grade: Bsc, University of Benin, course: accounting, language: English, abstract: This research work investigates the timeliness of financial reporting in Edo State local governments. The study specifically examines the influence of the size of the local government, technology, complexity and auditor competence in relation to the timeliness of financial reporting in the local government. A total of twenty-four structured questions and eighty questionnaires are used to evaluate respondent’s perceptions. The process of getting financial information from any local government takes time because the users have to wait until the financial accounts are published in the official government gazettes. As a result, there is a possibility of lack of interest in the financial accounts of local government as any potential issues fade with the passage of time if the reporting is overly late or inexplicable, so it will lose its relevance. Some critical issues identified which are responsible for delay in reporting in local government include the current environment of across-the-board budget cuts, over bloated size of the local government, lack of technology advancement, increased number of unqualified staff resources and new accounting standards, poor internal control system, inadequate system to record account for and monitor spending in terms of legislated processes. The findings reveal that the size and the complexity of the local government have significant impact on the timeliness of financial reporting, while auditor competence has no impact on timeliness. It recommends that the local government council in Edo State should ensure that their financial statements are published at the right time of their financial year so that users of the financial statements can have access to their reports. It is concluded that the timely release of a financial report is an essential ingredient for maintaining confidence in the minds of the stakeholders, as the lengths of time in which financial statements are reported to have an impact on the progress of the local council.

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.