Financial Health in Australian Local Government: The Application of a Funding Assessment Model to Brisbane and Sydney City Councils

2015/10/23 by Nigel Graves, Brian Dollery, Michael A. Kortt
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Community Development and Social Impact #Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism

paper · doi:10.1080/01900692.2015.1004086

Abstract

Local government financial viability measurement in an accrual budgeting environment poses complex challenges. Financial measures frequently generate conflicting results. A rating scale to assess financial management, constructed originally for South African municipalities (Dollery & Graves, 2009), represents a useful tool to analyze financial health trends. Applying a “Likert-like” scale to financial performance measures to assess “funding compliance”, the model in this article assists municipalities to avoid financial difficulties. To demonstrate the applicability of this model, we apply the model to the Brisbane City Council and the Sydney City Councils. Results show that the model represents a valuable aid to financial management decision-making.

Related

• An analysis of budget compliance measurement in South African local government best‐practice financial management technical assistance programs, 2001—2003
• Navigating the COVID-19 crisis: the financial resilience of Victorian local government
• The Financial Sustainability of Local Governments With Declining Populations
• Financial indicators for municipalities: a quantitative analysis
• The other side of the local government ledger—The association between revenue growth and population growth