Financial accounting reform in flemish municipalities: an empirical study of the comparability of the annual accounts

The purpose of this research is to examine the accounting output of the reformed financial accounting system of municipalities in Belgium, particularly in Flanders. For the first time ever in Belgian governments, an accounting reform transferred from business accounting was imposed. The research hypothesizes that the level of material comparability of the accounting output is very poor in spite of the strict accounting regulations. The empirical results indicate that the annual accounts are actually incomparable in many respects and that these problems cannot be explained away by a lack of experience.