Consolidated financial statements of local governments are one of the main reform elements of the new public sector accounting framework in Germany. According to the literature and the laws, serious control deficits on the local level will be overcome by implementing this reform element....

Government responses to recent financial crises have imposed heavy burdens on the public finances of many countries, and exposed weak links between fiscal information sources: budgets, accounts and finance statistics. In order to better understand the causes and effects of financial crises—as...