New development: Consolidated financial reporting as a stimulus for change in Italian local government

This article analyses the potential effect of consolidated financial reporting (CFR) on the accounting and reporting systems in Italian local government. As consequence of the increased use of decentralized entities in delivering a variety of public services, Italian local government needs to improve internal and external accountability. Although a number of obstacles (technical, legal and cultural) have been encountered in Italy, initial experience in Tuscany has demonstrated that CFR has benefits for internal and external users. CFR, in addition, is a potential stimulus for the full implementation of accrual accounting and reporting.