Spanish Public Sector Accounting
1.2. The Spanish Public Sector: Organization and Management
Delimiting the economic units within the Spanish public sector is crucial for analyzing public accounting. We can categorize these units based on territoriality:
- State
- Autonomous Communities
- Local
These units are further divided into:
- Public Administration (Public Law)
- Public Enterprises (Private Law)
Different entities within the State Public Sector include:
- Administrative Public Sector
- Public Business Sector
- Public Foundation Sector
These classifications influence management, accounting systems, budgets, legal frameworks, financing, and control models.
State Public Sector
- General Administration
- Autonomous Bodies dependent on the General State Administration (AGE)
- Public Corporate Entities dependent on the AGE or other public bodies
- Managing Bodies, Common Services, and Mutuals for occupational accidents and diseases of Social Security
- State-owned commercial companies (as defined in the Public Administration Heritage Law)
- Foundations of the State Public Sector (as defined in the Foundations Law)
- State Public Law Entities other than those in B and C (Public entities with different legal systems)
- Partnerships with legal personality where the State holds a majority stake and effective control
- Differentiated bodies in the General State Budget (PGE) lacking legal personality and not integrated into the AGE
Administrative State Sector
- Entities mentioned in points A, B, D, and I above
- Entities in G and H above, meeting these criteria:
- Primary business is non-profit
- Not primarily funded by business income
State Public Business Sector
- Public Business Entities
- State-owned commercial companies
- Entities in G and H not included in the Administrative Public Sector
State Public Foundation Sector
Composed of the foundations of the public sector.
Autonomous Public Sector (17 Autonomous Communities)
- General Administration of the Autonomous Community (Councils, including central and peripheral)
- Autonomous Bodies
- Public Corporate Entities
- Managing entities and common services of Social Security
- Commercial Companies
- Foundations
- Other Public Law Entities
- Consortia
Local Public Sector (Municipalities and Supra-municipal Entities)
- General Administration (Local Authority), including central and peripheral
- Autonomous Bodies
- Public Corporate Entities
- Corporations
- Consortia
- Foundations
Forms of Public Service Management
- Direct Management: Service provided by the entity itself or through autonomous bodies or corporations with wholly public capital.
- Indirect Management: Contracting services with the private sector through various methods (grants, concession management, partially public corporations, etc.).
1.5. Public Accounts: Concept and Divisions
Public Accounts is a branch of applied micro-accounting that provides qualitative and quantitative knowledge of the economic reality of a public administrative microeconomic unit. This allows understanding the unit’s current situation and its evolution. Beyond this general purpose, Public Accounts has specific aims:
Management Aims
Provide information for decision-making at both political and management levels, showing performance in economic, financial, and budgetary matters.
Control Aims
Provide information for accountability and various control mechanisms.
Analysis and Dissemination Aims
- Support the development of public sector economic accounts in Spain.
- Enable analysis of the economic and financial effects of public entities’ activities.
- Provide information to other stakeholders (associations, institutions, companies, citizens, etc.).
Divisions of Public Accounts
- By Type of Problem:
- External Accounting: Relations with the external world (economic, financial, and budgetary).
- Internal Accounting: Internal relations resulting from the production process.
- By Public Sector Area:
- State Public Sector Accounts
- Autonomous Public Sector Accounts
- Local Public Sector Accounts