Are Public Accounting and National Accounting standards converging: the expenses of previous years

Abstract

In the context of the Public and the National Accounts the expenses of previous years assumes special significance, since they have to be considered for obtaining national accounts deficit. Thus, this paper intends to present the criterion that serves for calculating those expenses under the law and the level of services that are implementing the public accounting plans. As a main conclusion, it is pointed out that the criteria adopted to recognize expenses of previous years are not harmonized hindering the pretended convergence between the Public and the National Accounts and prejudicing the deficit reported to the European Union.