Reform of Financial Provisions of the Local Government Act, 20/2012

Summary

The Working Group on Local Government Finances, established by the Ministry of Finance, has prepared its proposal on the financial provisions of the Local Government Act.

To the present Local Government Act would be added provisions on the arrangement of internal control and risk management, on supplementing of provisions relating to operational reporting and financial statements with provisions relating to future financial development, and on specifying the auditor’s term of office as a period independent of the term of office of the municipal council, yet in terms of the auditing of governance and finances for a maximum of six financial years. The intention in respect of these provisions is for a Government proposal for an Act amending the Local Government Act to be given to Parliament in the 2012 spring session.

The intention in respect of the working group’s other proposals is to evaluate them during further preparation of a comprehensive reform of the Local Government Act. The working group has examined, among other things, the specification of local government tasks in relation to central and local government, the development of the basic public services programme procedure, the duties of local government bodies, the management system, the determination of the balance of local government finances, the possibility of introducing municipal council spending limits, the regulation of guarantees, borrowing and tax rates, the funding of joint municipal authorities, municipal steering opportunities for joint municipal authority finances and the harmonisation of principles relating to municipal accounting procedures as well as the general guidelines of the Municipal Section of the Finnish Accounting Board and their validity.

General guidelines relating to depreciation procedure have been reviewed during the working group’s work, with the recommendation that minimum limits on depreciation periods be applied. In addition, the working group has examined in respect of the Act on Central Government Transfers to Local Government for Basic Public Services the assessment of municipalities in a difficult financial situation. The working group has not made statute proposals relating to issues referred to in further preparation.

Language versions

• Kuntalain taloussäännösten uudistaminen, 20/2012
  11.04.2012
• Förnyandet av ekonomibestämmelserna i kommunallagen, 20/2012
  11.04.2012

Printable version