Popular Report and Consolidated Financial Statements in Public Utilities. Different Tools to Inform the Citizens, a Long Journey of the Transparency
Paolo Biancone, Silvana Secinaro, Valerio Brescia

Abstract
With the process of accounting harmonization within the European Union, a route that would ensure transparency and accessibility of the results is necessary. The population must be able to know the use of taxes and resources collected, and must understand how these are used in services. With the increase of services provided internally and outsourced to external companies or subsidiaries, a representation of all the necessary services and companies based on the needs identified by local authorities is required. Stakeholders and, in particular, the citizens need concrete tools to read information already disclosed in the balance sheet with regard to public companies consolidated. The basic tools, that we have explored, are financial reporting, popular reporting, integrated reporting, the service charter and the service contract. These different tools, frequently used by countries and companies, will be showed in economic terms and in terms of the results of the extra- local group. Using an integrated approach based on the planning and management control, on the rules of international organizations for standardization and on strategies for data presentation, we also propose a system to create an integrated popular report that includes elements of different existing tools.

Full Text: PDF