(Finance) – “In over thirty years we have recorded 716 local administrations in financial difficulty. In 2023 alone, there are 26 municipalities with budgets in ‘suffering’: these are the alarming data highlighted by the study carried out by the National Foundation of Accountants which require a reflection on the responsibility of auditors, administrators and consultants”. Diego Musto, vice president of the Order of Chartered Accountants and Accounting Experts of Naples North, said this on the occasion of the forum “Safeguarding budget balances and the general adjustment of the budget; crisis management in the local authority, promoted in Aversa.
“Territorial administrations, below 15,000 inhabitants – underlined Eugenia Maisto, councilor of the ODCEC of Naples North – are going through a profound economic crisis and the current tools available are not sufficient. It is necessary to intervene with determination on internal and external control systems by activating a relationship of greater collaboration between the auditors and the Court of Auditors. During the fourth event (totaling 13 training credits) we analyzed the solutions hypothesized by sector experts”.
In my opinionMichele Frignola, councilor of the ODCEC of Naples North, it is necessary to carefully study the available tools to allow the auditors to carry out an effective analysis of the situation, in order to be able to express an opinion on the maintenance of budget balances”.
Ezio Micilloterritorial representative of Ancrel, highlighted that during the debate “the causes that generate crises in local authorities were examined. In Italy there are over 500 municipalities that are in pre-failure and financial failure, the majority of entities are located in the central-southern regions. The role of auditors and local administrators is increasingly strategic because through their ability, experience and professionalism it is possible to monitor and report the causes, identifying solutions to avoid the default of public structures “.
For Vincenzo Maisto (financial manager of the Municipality of Villa di Briano and superior in the prefectural commission of the municipality of Caivano) “the role of the accountant is fundamental both to help the managers and superiors in the activities, and for the control of the management part in the planning phase. In the municipalities dissolved pursuant to article 143 of the Tuel (consequent to phenomena of infiltration and conditioning of organized crime) legality is fundamental and the guarantee that an extraordinary commission is that of having all the superiors and the board of auditors traveling in the same direction “.
Salvatore Massi, sgeneral secretary of the Municipality of Caserta, argued that “the figure of the accountant within a municipal administration plays a central role because it has a dual aspect: auditor (support in the direction and control phase of the correctness of the accounting entries of budget and final account) and expert for reporting, correct allocation of financing linked to PNRR projects”.
“The verification of collection within a local authority is particularly delicate and the role of the accountants represents an important phase also in order to maintain balance in the long term. It is essential to carry out refresher courses on a constant basis because the legislation is in continuous evolution”, he remarked Marco Gagliarde (financial manager of the Municipality of San Marcellino).
For Ortensio Fabozzi (chartered accountant) “consultants and auditors are the territorial ‘sentinels’ who study the financial situations in close contact with the Municipal Councils and the Court of Auditors, suggesting effective solutions to avoid compromising the real economic need of the entity”.
The closing of the works was entrusted to Angela Arsenti, president of the Local Authorities Commission of the ODCEC Naples North.