Can lessons be learnt from the accounting procedures and practices in other countries?
29. EC financial administration, the least evolved in the EU: The EC’s financial administration of the budget, far from being an example to follow by the Member States, is the most poor of them all. Any of the 15 Member States of the EU (prior to the incorporation of the last 10 as for these little information exists yet on the quality of their public accounting) have accounting procedures and financial management practices from which the EC can learn. While there is no room to describe them here, the information published by the Finance Ministry of the OECD countries is of great value to learn about the accounting practices of its members. The OECD itself has published various documents about the best accounting practices in public management (PUMA directorate). 30. The British example: From my own experience and having reviewed the financial statements of public entities in the UK I believe there are a number of practices that the EC does not currently observe and which are of great
