How (should) public authorities report on state-owned enterprises for financial sustainability and cutback management—a new quality model

Abstract

Empirical data show the significance of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for providing public services. Financial sustainability, cutback management and budget consolidation are no longer possible without including SOEs. This paper examines the ways that public authorities reported on the capital, performance and debts of their SOEs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland between 2009 and 2012. The quality of holdings reporting was found to differ quite considerably. The author provides new knowledge and a conceptual approach for countries all over the world to evaluate and substantially enhance public management concerning financial sustainability and cutbacks.

Keywords:

• Accountability
• cutback management
• financial sustainability
• public corporation.

Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful comments of the two anonymous reviewers. He also thanks Giuseppe Grossi and the participants of the EURAM Conference held in Kristianstad (13-14 December 2012) for their input.

Notes

¹SOEs have been defined by the OECD as enterprises where the state has significant control, through full, majority, or significant minority ownership (OECD, 2005, p. 11).