Creative accounting in Italian public finance : audit governance and accounting methodology

The performance of state-owned enterprises (SOE) depends on the quality of many essential services, the degree of efficiency and effectiveness of most public expenditure and, often, the financial statement of the participating administrations. There are therefore numerous reasons why the financial statement of these companies should be inspired by the highest quality levels. The results of the search presented here, however, do not confirm this expectation and highlight the limitations caused by an uncritical adoption of the capital company model which, focused on measuring the economic result, proves unable to meet accountability needs generated by the public nature of the resources used and the presence of purposes of general interest. [Publisher's Text].