Operating within the boundaries of legislation, accountability and personal agendas: A study on financial sustainability in Catalan municipalities
ISSN: 2049-372X
Article publication date: 31 May 2019
Issue publication date: 11 June 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the views of mayors and comptrollers of Catalan municipalities on aspects related to the Spanish legislation on financial sustainability – its usefulness and necessity of maintaining, its impact on citizens’ welfare and alternative proposals. The setting is rather interesting as strict rules are imposed by a legislation criticized of mimicking European Commission policies, on well-performing municipalities, in light of the recent “independency” conflict.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses insights from the public choice theory and the concept of accountability to draw a framework that could explain the perceptions of mayors and comptrollers. The views of the two groups are captured with the use of an online questionnaire.
Findings
The results indicate that while the application of strict rules has borne fruit, this trend is not sustainable in the long run and a careful reconsideration is required. Accordingly, both groups express concerns on citizens’ future welfare. It moreover appears that in this particular setting, mayors’ and comptrollers’ sense of accountability toward citizens exceed their personal interests.
Originality/value
This study provides empirical evidence on the impact of strict budget stability and sustainability rules on the long-term financial sustainability of local governments from the point of view of mayors and municipality comptrollers who are called to implement them.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Sandra Cohen, Isabel Brusca, Yuri Biondi, Yulia Kasperskaya, Giovanna Lucianelli and the participants of the 41st European Accounting Association Conference held in Milan, Italy, and the 16th Biennial CIGAR Conference, held in Porto, Portugal, where an earlier version was presented.
Citation
Karatzimas, S. and Griful Miquela, C. (2019), "Operating within the boundaries of legislation, accountability and personal agendas: A study on financial sustainability in Catalan municipalities", Meditari Accountancy Research, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 346-365. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEDAR-02-2018-0284
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited