The effects of corporatisation on financial reporting: The experience of the Italian local governments

Much has changed over the past few years regarding the quantity and the quality of the financial information the Italian Local Governments (LGs) publish, even as a consequence of the corporatisation of the local public services. The paper is aimed at describing the causes and effects of the corporatisation process, which interested the Italian LGs, and at identifying the possible financial tools in order to improve internal and external accountability. The different dimensions of financial performance are briefly discussed, as well as the technical tools used to measure them according to the accountability and stakeholder approaches. Copyright © 2009, Inderscience Publishers.