Incorrect opening balance sheets: Municipalities are calling for clear rules!

Incorrect opening balance sheets: Municipalities are calling for clear rules!

In the past few weeks, various communities in Salzburg and Lower Austria have seen themselves confronted with severe accounting errors, which were uncovered during the opening balance in 2020. The Landesgruchungshof stated that numerous municipalities, including Fuschl, Köstendorf, St. Gilgen and Straßwalchen, made considerable mistakes in recording assets and debts. These false numbers significantly influence the basis for future balance sheets. The Court of Auditors is now calling for a comprehensive review and correction of the opening balance sheets of all affected communities.

At the same time, politics calls for an expansion of the test powers of the State Audit Office, especially for municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. So far, only 25 of the 573 municipalities in Lower Austria are subject to these exams, which, according to the MPs, must be revised urgently. From a recent report on the parking deck participation in Waidhofen/Ybbs, it shows that taxpayers are wasted to a significant extent, such as Kollermann.eu . Here it is important to examine the administration and get a clear overview of the finances, since Lower Austria takes second place in a ranking of the indebted communities.

The mayors concerned deny that the municipalities are solely responsible for these mistakes. According to Christian Braunstein, the mayor of Fuschl am See, there would not have been enough help from the country. The municipalities are now calling for clear guidelines for the evaluation of assets in order to avoid similar mistakes in the future. Continuous corrections of the balance sheets are already in the works, but the demand for better cooperation is in space.