The Swiss Way of Presenting the Governments’ Financial Statements

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to give the reader the keys to understanding the financial statements and budget plans as they are prepared and presented by Swiss governments at the three different levels. In Switzerland, as elsewhere, financial statements are a major element of governmental information systems, and must be organized so as to respond to the various expectations interested parties have of the government. These expectations have evolved over time as the country’s internal institutions have transformed, as well as due to technical, accounting, and computing changes. Swiss governments have achieved a high standard of quality in their financial statements with some of them fulfilling all the requirements formulated in the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs). This is remarkable, considering the great autonomy the cantons have in this area, and remarkable in the absence of legal strictures obligating cantonal governments to use the proposed harmonized accounting model.