scholarly journals Selected financial indicators as a tool for optimizing local government units management

VUZF Review ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 179-191
Author(s):  
Marek Wolanin

Finances of each organization are the basic security of its existence and the main indicator of its profitability. In local government units public finances, despite many similarities, are governed by different rules than economic entities, if only because local governments have systemically guaranteed income in the form of state grants and subsidies. New and modern methods of financial management appear in self-government financial management. We can notice it both in the scope of sources of investment financing and the scope of information and data justifying or negating financial decisions and, consequently, local government management. Financial indicators as tools supporting the decision-making process of governing bodies are an important factor in decision-making, including the implementation of public tasks, satisfaction of social needs and expectations. Thanks to indicators local governments have analytical information, useful in the process of management taking into account social expectations comparable to other units. The indicators show where a given self-government unit is in relation to its competitors, allow for a comparable evaluation of the achievable results and for a social evaluation covering the expectations and needs of the community's inhabitants. It should be noted that the indicators are the effect of using data, which are very abundant on the local government and business market. We often deal with metadata covering the whole country and regions and their sources are more or less reliable. Reliability of sources is extremely important in public perception. It is guaranteed by institutions representing information collected on the basis of systematic reports, obtained in a uniform space for all local government units. Both data and indicators calculated on their basis, as well as reliable rankings presented, are tools used by mayors of communes, local communities, more and more often government institutions, funds, agencies and media presenting more and less reliable rankings.

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 96-106
Author(s):  
Gede Adi Yuniarta ◽  
I Gusti Ayu Purnamawati

Transparency is a challenge for public administration reforms for now and beyond towards modern and better governance. The economic crisis that occurred has led to a large erosion of public confidence in the effectiveness of government financial management. This study aims to analyze the key elements of local government transparency in new public governance. The research data was obtained through financial reports on local government websites. The sample selection technique used purposive judgment sampling and yielded a total of 262 local governments in Indonesia. The analytical method used is logistic regression analysis. The results showed that key elements, reflected by the local government size and local financial independence ratio, had a significant influence on the implementation of internet financial reporting, while audit opinions do not have a significant effect. This is due to changes in public perception of the quality of audit opinions provided by the Audit Board. This study emphasizes that local governments that receive a fair or unfair audit opinion cannot prove with certainty that the local government has performed good or poor financial management. Audit opinions obtained by local governments do not always facilitate the publication of financial statements on their official websites.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0160323X2199163
Author(s):  
Ann O’M. Bowman ◽  
Domonic A. Bearfield ◽  
Stefanie Chambers ◽  
Beverly A. Cigler ◽  
Arnold Fleischmann ◽  
...  

This essay offers a perspective on a new and reinvigorated research agenda for the study of U.S. local governments. It reports on the ideas and reflections of a set of local government scholars with different vantage points and varied substantive interests. Seven paramount themes or directions for a research agenda were identified, all of which contain numerous threads and thrusts: local government finance and economic development, local government management, intergovernmental relations, collaboration, public engagement, social equity, and institutional design. The essay offers some reasons for optimism about the future of U.S. local governments while also identifying cause for concern.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Constantina Costopoulou ◽  
Maria Ntaliani ◽  
Filotheos Ntalianis

Local governments are increasingly developing electronic participation initiatives, expecting citizen involvement in local community affairs. Our objective was to assess e-participation and the extent of its change in local government in Greece. Using content analysis for 325 Greek municipal websites, we assessed e-participation status in 2017 and 2018 and examined the impact of change between these years. The assessment regards two consecutive years since the adoption of digital technologies by municipalities has been rapid. The main findings show that Greek local governments have made significant small- to medium-scale changes, in order to engage citizens and local societies electronically. We conclude that the integration of advanced digital technologies in municipalities remains underdeveloped. We propose that Greek municipalities need to consider incorporating new technologies, such as mobile apps, social media and big data, as well as e-decision making processes, in order to eliminate those obstacles that hinder citizen engagement in local government. Moreover, the COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the need for enhancing e-participation and policymakers’ coordination through advanced digital technologies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sutaryo Sutaryo ◽  
Yediel Lase

Overdue financial statements reporting, more specifically audit delay, can cause losses in its capacity in decision making. We investigate the effects of auditor characteristics on local governments’ audit delay by studying 127 Indonesian local governments. We find that auditor professional proficiency and auditor educational background have significant effect on the audit delay of local government financial statements. Our results also indicate the intersection of some auditor characteristics in affecting audit delay. Our findings mainly suggest that the auditor professional proficiency should be improved to shrink audit delay.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-03
Author(s):  
Xu . ◽  
Lishan .

Local governments play an indelible role in the process of world heritage protection. This paper attempts to explore the historical evolution of the development of Leshan Giant Buddha and Mount Emei and the current situation of local government management, so as to summarize some relevant experience of local government management for world heritage protection.


Yurispruden ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 208
Author(s):  
Fahrul Abrori

 ABSTRAKPandemi Covid-19 yang terjadi di Indonesia membuat pemerintah membuat kebijakan-kebijakan sebagai stimulus untuk menjaga kestabilan masyarakat dan perekonomian. Pemerintah pusat memberikan kewenangan kepada pemerintah daerah untuk mengelola keuangan daerah untuk menangani covid-19 di daerah masing-masing. Hal ini disebabkan karena pemerintah daerah lebih memahami kebutuhan daerahnya. Permasalahan yang diangkat Pertama, bagaimana hubungan Pemerintah Pusat dan Pemerintah Daerah dalam pengelolaan keuangan untuk penanganan pandemi Covid-19? Kedua, Apa peran Pemerintah Daerah dalam pengelolaan keuangan daerah untuk penanganan pandemi Covid-19? Menggunakan metode penelitian yuridis normatif dengan pendekatan perundang-undangan dan pendekatan konsep. Hubungan Pemerintah Pusat dan Pemerintah Daerah dalam Pengelolaan Keuangan untuk Penanganan Pandemi Covid-19 yaitu desentralisasi fiskal yang mana. Peran Pemerintah Daerah dalam Pengelolaan Keuangan Daerah untuk Penanganan Pandemi Covid-19 yaitu dengan melakukan refocusing kegiatan, realokasi anggaran, dan Penggunaan Anggaran Pendapatan dan Belanja Daerah.Kata kunci: Pemerintah Daerah, Pengelolaan Keuangan Daerah, Pandemi Covid-19 ABSTRACTThe Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia led the government to make policies as a stimulus to maintain the stability of society and the economy. The central government authorizes local governments to manage local finances to deal with covid-19 in their respective regions. This is because the local government better understands the needs of the region. The issue raised first, how is the relationship between the Central Government and Local Government in financial management for the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic? Second, What is the role of local governments in regional financial management for the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic? Using normative juridical research methods with statutory approaches and concept approaches. The relationship between the Central Government and Local Government in Financial Management for the Handling of the Covid-19 Pandemic is fiscal decentralization. The role of local governments in regional financial management for the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic is by refocusing activities, reallocating budgets, and using regional budgets.Keywords: Local Government, Regional Financial Management, Covid-19 Pandemic


Author(s):  
Peter Demediuk ◽  
Stephen Burgess ◽  
Rolf Solli

Local governance occurs where a local government gives citizens a say in things that really matter to them, and e-governance initiatives provide electronic means to enable citizens to participate in this shared governing of the community. The clearer a local government is about the nature and degree to which it needs to act as a democracy actor (better citizens and better government) and/or a service delivery actor (better decision making), the greater the prospect that it can choose appropriate electronic means through an e-governance approach to meet those ends. In order to guide an e-governance practice and inform further research, this chapter: provides models that articulate the elements that constitute better decision making, better citizens, and better government, and presents examples from five local governments of how electronic means can satisfy particular ends.


Author(s):  
Fabio De Matteis ◽  
Daniela Preite

After highlighting the breadth and complexity of the concept of sustainability and highlighting the role of local authorities in sustainable development, this chapter aims to interpret how sustainability management can consider the concept of financial sustainability in the context of local governments. It does this through the following specific objectives: 1) defining financial sustainability, considering it not only autonomously, but in an integrated manner with respect to the typical sustainability dimensions (environmental, social, and economic) that are usually involved in the local authorities activity; 2) proposing the main stages of the sustainability cycle in the local authorities to highlight the key moments and the role of financial sustainability; 3) analyzing some aspects of financial indicators as tools for measuring the financial side of the sustainability profile of a local government. In order to reach the aim of the chapter, the research methodology followed is the literature review.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-268
Author(s):  
Ángel H. Iglesias Alonso ◽  
Roberto L. Barbeito Iglesias

In 2015, the local government of the city of Madrid (Spain) introduced an electronic participation system. This initiative stemmed mainly from the social movements that had occupied the squares of many Spanish cities since 2011. As a result of the local elections in 2015, many of those same activists gained institutional power, took citizens’ participation very seriously, and decided to use the possibilities offered by the internet for political and administrative participation. In this article, we seek to assess the impacts of the Madrid city government with the e-democracy experiment – based mainly on establishing an online platform to facilitate citizen participation in political and administrative decision processes. Drawing on qualitative and documental data, our research indicates that whereas the overall aim of the project was to give citizens a say in local policy and decision making, our case study shows that participation was very low since most of the population does not feel concerned by these processes. Indeed, one of our findings showed that citizens’ involvement offline surpassed in some cases their online participation. To identify who is politically active online and offline is a great challenge, to which the promoters of the project did not pay much attention. Although e-participation was meagre in relation to the electoral turnout, the case study also shows that many proposals from the public were incorporated into the local policies, indicating that from a qualitative point of view, e-participation influences decision-making processes. Perhaps local governments should use a more strategic and integrated approach towards the use of electronic technologies to foster and motivate citizens’ involvement in local politics and administration. This more integrated approach should be less dependent on ideological incentives, more institutionalized, and must incorporate citizens’ perceptions and inputs before the introduction of new technologies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (11) ◽  
pp. 3015-3034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirley Suellen Thesari ◽  
Flavio Trojan ◽  
Dayse Regina Batistus

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a model to support governmental local managers in public budget optimization, based on an integration of methods. It was constructed to fill the gap related to weights definition in problematic, commonly performed subjective assessments. This model supports the decision making in budget distribution identifying the importance of sectors in local governments, captured by historical data. Design/methodology/approach The model was developed following three steps: the first step included the exploitation of the characteristics of local sectors represented by city departments and the data collection procedure using time series (TS). In the second one, the weights regarding the importance of each city department were calculated by the UTASTAR method and based on historical data from the first step. Finally, an objective function was formulated using linear programming and constraints based on law specifications, and as a result, an optimized projection for public budget distribution was performed. Findings The results demonstrated that the model can be more efficient to weights definition, considering the behavior of preferences by historical data and supporting local public resources optimization, also to comply with the legislation, being able to predict or project future values available on the budget. Research limitations/implications The theoretical and practical implications are related with a novelty in recognizing the weights for criteria by a historical behavior of preferences. It can be bringing important directions for budget distribution. The main limitation detected in this study was the difficulty to formulate an assessment involving an integrated opinion from local managers and the population. Practical implications First of all, with the correct allocation of resources, the government has a greater advantage to capture investments from the negotiation with development entities and banks. Second, an efficient local government management can promote compliance with legislation and more transparent public policies. Social implications The correct distribution of resources affects the life quality for citizens, since the government acts as a provider of essential services for the population like education, safety, health, particularly for citizens who depend exclusively on the services offered by the local government. Moreover, it can also affect the environment as resources for garbage collection, disposal services and sanitation and, finally, affect the city development such as infrastructure, taxes, etc. Originality/value It might be considered an original contribution mainly by the development of a procedure to capture values for weights by TS and meeting the manager’s requirements, based on analytical, statistical and mathematical tools integrated.


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