Usefulness of Financial Reporting for Japanese Local Counsils' Decision Making

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K03794
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Accounting
• Research Institution: Toyama University of International Studies
• Principal Investigator: Sato Ayako 富山国際大学, 現代社会学部, 准教授(移行) (20746614)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 公会計 / 財務報告 / 地方議会

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Japanese local governments have prepared accrual-based financial documents, expecting them to function as external financial reporting. However, the survey targeted chairpersons of Japanese local councils, representative of citizens as main external users, showed the limited utilization of the documents. It was caused by the information gap between users’ needs and the information given in the documents, understandability of the information and low recognition of information usefulness. To develop the financial documents toward financial reporting, which is accountable for external users, it is important to afford not only financial information but non-financial information by the level of policy-business line, with explanation of management discussion analysis. The development of these general purpose financial reports will contribute to the governments’ external communication and then to better governance.

Free Research Field

公会計