State accounting can do more than the state currently uses it for. The data is of high quality, yet decisions based on it are lacking
PRESS RELEASE – 13 November 2025
State accounting in the Czech Republic has the potential to serve better than it does today. While it serves well for macroeconomic and statistical purposes, providing reliable data and finding practical applications, its use for management and decision-making by individual institutions remains limited. Nor does it appear that state accounting is used to prepare the budget or to compare financial results with the budget plan. This was one of the main objectives of the 2010 public sector accounting reform, which was expected to link the accounting and budgetary perspectives.
The findings are based on a joint report published today by the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) and the Faculty of Finance and Accounting of the Prague University of Economics and Business (PUEB). The report evaluates the use of accounting information by central government institutions, i.e., ministries, and also other state organisational units.
Based on scientific research, the authors focused on the use of accounting information not only by employees of central public administration bodies, legislators, and the professional public, but also by experts from selected institutions with an influence on macroeconomic decision-making. These include, for example, the Czech Statistical Office, the Czech National Bank, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Budget Council. The systematic use of state accounting information was confirmed only for this last group of users, mainly for statistical purposes. Other users use state data randomly or only for specific purposes.
The analysis also shows that the structure of financial statements is unnecessarily complex. For example, some parts of the financial statements are hardly ever used in practice – these include the cash flow statement, the statement of changes in equity, many off-balance sheet accounts, and parts of the supplementary analytical overview. It is precisely in these areas that the authors of the report see room for simplification without losing important and useful information.
According to the SAO and the PUEB, the Ministry of Finance should use the report's conclusions when preparing a new draft of Act on Accounting and related implementing regulations. The legislation currently being prepared offers a logical opportunity to reassess the scope and content of financial statements and the accounting practices of state entities without incurring additional costs or interfering with existing processes. According to the SAO, simplifying the reports could increase the usefulness of accounting information and reduce the administrative burden.
The report specifically recommends that the Ministry of Finance strengthen the use of accounting information in the budgetary process. This would, for example, enable better reflection of the long-term economic reality of individual chapters of the state budget and help ensure greater emphasis on the practical usability of reported data. Last but not least, according to the report's conclusions, the Ministry should support education and professional development – an area in which potential users themselves perceive a certain deficit.
The authors also provide recommendations for those who work directly with accounting information. They recommend that employees of ministries and other state organisations support improvements in the quality and informative value of reported information, particularly through professional training and methodological support. They also recommend strengthening the link between the accounting and budgetary systems and systematically using accounting information for management and planning, as the interconnection of both systems ensures data consistency and aids responsible decision-making.
With regard to external users, which include, for example, the Parliament of the Czech Republic, the SAO, the Czech Statistical Office, the Czech National Bank, and the public, the report draws attention to the growing emphasis on the quality, comprehensibility, and accessibility of accounting information.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office