The Accounting Reform in the Brussels-capital Region： New Tool for Financial Analysis

In the last 20 years, public administrations in Belgium have completely reformed their accounting systems. The new system consists in combining double-entry general accounting with budgetary accounting, which is traditional in the public sector. The accounting reform of 2003 marks a turning point in the history of accounting of the federal State and federated entities （regions and communities）. The Brussels-capital region is the first federated entity to embark on the adventure and implement the new accounting system in 2006. The aim of this article is to introduce the legislative framework and the different implementation steps of the accounting reform in the Brussels-capital region and to provide a financial analysis of the region. The objective is to see if the region has a good financial situation. To do this, this paper analyses the data from the balance sheet and the income statements from 2008 to 2011. On one hand, it analyzes the evolution of the region＇s different results; and on the other hand, it presents different financial ratios. It also analyzes the evolution of the regional debt. This paper concludes that, although expenses and the debt are increasing, the situation of the region is not worrying, because of good budgetary performances, sophisticated financial management, and law loans rates. Even if the results of the analysis don＇t have to be interpreted as the same way as for a private company, the annual accounts provide interesting information that can be used to improve public finance.