Observaciones finales En los países de la UE

Concluding remarks In EU countries three systems of public accounting information operate: the budgetary system, accrual-based financial accounting and macroeconomic accounts. The comparison between the figures derived from national budgetary systems and information based on accrual of macroeconomic aggregates is specified in the tables that regularly publishes EUROSTAT. This comparison, which presents different categories of adjustments for each country, is no doubt an effective indicator of the distance or gap between both information systems. Since September 2014 the new ESA10 has come into force and this fact raises the important task of reviewing the state of convergence of accounting systems at central and local governments.

We have carried out different analytical methodologies to study the convergence of public accounting systems in the EU. First we have analyzed the convergence from two different perspectives, global, (for eight specific adjustments listed in EDP Notification Tables) and partial (for each adjustments categories) and for central and local governments. For each country we calculate a global index and partial indexes for both, central and local governments. Secondly, we apply an alternative model based on the distance between the adjustments of each country and the extreme situation, that would imply null adjustments.

As a supplementary, we focus on the relative weight of adjustments by country and for each level of government. By the analysis of the data available after the entry into force of the new ESA10, 2014 and 2015, the research presented in this paper can conclude the following: - The only country with maximum convergence between budget and national accounts is the UK, both at central and local levels. - At central level, the most important adjustments are accrualrelated adjustments. Nevertheless, at local level, it can be noted the low value of accruals adjustments, going down from being the most important adjustment to occupy the third place in importance.

This circumstance is related to the fact that nine countries declare the accrual criteria as a basis of recognition at the local level vis-à-vis only two countries at the central level. - Bulgaria and Greece are in the group of smaller convergence, both at central government level and at local level. - Austria and Germany have high convergence rates at the central and local levels, while the remaining countries have different levels of convergence at central and local levels. - A clear link between the convergence of public accounting systems and cultural and administrative traditions in the EU (Anglo-Saxon, Continental, Nordic and Eastern European) has not been found, highlighting a significant diversity in this regard within the EU. –

 The importance of adjustments differs between countries and areas of government. Adjustments connectedto recognitioncriteria (accrual or others), particularly significant from the point of view of the approach to GAAP, rank first in importance at the central governmentlevel, but are less significant atthe local level. - Finally, it can be concluded that the application of the 2010 ESA criteria in the period under review does not contribute significantly to the approximation of the information presented by the two public accounting systems considered, with respect to ESA 95, according to the findings of this paper and other empirical studies carried out by the authors previously.

Observaciones finales En los países de la UE funcionan tres sistemas de información de la contabilidad pública: el sistema presupuestario, la contabilidad financiera basada en el devengo y las cuentas macroeconómicas-. La comparación entre las cifras derivadas de los sistemas presupuestarios nacionales y la información basada en la acumulación de agregados macroeconómicos se especifica en los cuadros que publican regularmente EUROSTAT. Esta comparación, que presenta diferentes categorías de ajustes para cada país, es sin duda un indicador eficaz de la distancia o brecha entre ambos sistemas de información. Desde septiembre de 2014, el nuevo ESA10 ha entrado en vigor y este hecho plantea la importante tarea de revisar el estado de convergencia de los sistemas contables en las administraciones centrales y locales.

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