Government accounting reports for the citizen: a reinterpretation of the general balance sheet of the State of Goiás, Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21680/2176-9036.2025v17n2ID37255Keywords:
compreensibilidade., balanço do cidadão, controle social, informações contábeis, transparênciaAbstract
Purpose: The objective of this article is to present the process of constructing the re-reading of the General Balance Sheet of the Government of Goiás, a Federative Unit of Brazil located in the Central West Region, for the financial year 2022 in light of the literature of popular financial reports (RFPs).
Methodology: Based on literature analysis and in conjunction with teams from the Department of Finance and the Department of Social Communication of Goiás, the information in the General Purpose Accounting Report (RCPG) was reorganized by thematic areas, highlighting the main revenue numbers collected and expense incurred. With the help of the Canva® Platform, the Goiás Citizen Balance Sheet 2022 was prepared, integrating the essential characteristics of the Popular Financial Reports (RFPs).
Results: The 2022 Goiás Citizen Report was developed to meet society's demands for transparency and accessibility. The presentation of financial information, organized by thematic areas and consolidating relevant data, resulted in the publication of the report by the Secretariat of Economy of the State of Goiás, with wide dissemination, with mentions on websites, radio and television.
Contributions of the Study: RFPs have been presented in the literature as a path to transparency, accessibility and understanding of government financial reports, which can contribute to more effective citizen participation in social control.
Downloads
References
Bairral, M. A. D. C. (2013). Transparência no setor público: uma análise do nível de transparência dos relatórios de gestão dos entes públicos federais no exercício de 2010. 102 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Controle de Gestão) - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro.
Biancone, P., Secinaro, S., & Brescia, V. (2016). The popular financial reporting: focus on stakeholders—the first European experience. International Journal of Business and Management, 11(11), 115-125.
Biondi, L., & Bracci, E. (2018). Sustainability, popular and integrated reporting in the public sector: A fad and fashion perspective. Sustainability, 10(9), 3112.
Bracci, E., Biondi, L., & Kastberg, G. (2023). Citizen‐centered financial reporting translation: The preparers’ perspective. Financial Accountability & Management, 39(1), 18-39.
Cabral, L. D. M. (2020). Movimento ocular e desafios cognitivos na compreensão de Relatórios Populares (Doctoral dissertation, Universidade de São Paulo).
Calderón, C., & Lorenzo, S. (2010). Open Government: Gobierno Abierto. Algón Editores. Jaén, España: Algón Editrores MMX.
Célérier, L., & Cuenca Botey, L. E. (2015). Participatory budgeting at a community level in Porto Alegre: a Bourdieusian interpretation. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 28(5), 739-772.
Clay, J. A. (2007). Popular reporting. Government Public Relations: A Reader, 151-156.
Clay, J. A. (2010). Appendix H: Recent collaboration practice literature. Strategic Collaboration in Public and Nonprofit Administration: A Practice-Based Approach to Solving Shared Problems, 343.
Clay, P. M., & Olson, J. (2008). Defining" fishing communities": vulnerability and the Magnuson-Stevens fishery conservation and management act. Human Ecology Review, 143-160.
Coelho, M. C., da Cruz, F., & Neto, O. A. P. (2011). A informação contábil como ferramenta de auxílio no exercício do controle social. Contabilidade Vista & Revista, 22(3), 163-184.
Cohen, S., Mamakou, X. J., & Karatzimas, S. (2017). IT-enhanced popular reports: Analyzing citizen preferences. Government Information Quarterly, 34(2), 283-295.
Del Gesso, C., & Romagnoli, L. (2020). Citizen-centered reporting: assessing popular financial reporting practice in Italian decentralized governments. International Journal of Business and Management, 15(2), 1-16.
Edmondson, A. C. (2020). Don’t hide bad news in times of crisis. Harvard Business Review, 6.
Enke, E. L. (1967). Governmental accounting reports for the citizen. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Ferry, L., Eckersley, P., & Zakaria, Z. (2015). Accountability and transparency in English local government: moving from ‘matching parts’ to ‘awkward couple’?. Financial Accountability & Management, 31(3), 345-361.
Gonçalves, A.O. de, Bilhim, J. A. F. de, de Rezende, R. B., & de Souza Gonçalves, R. (2021). Accountability and social control: how the process works. Revista de Contabilidade e Organizações, 15, 1-13.
Hermann, K. R. (2011). Creating an excellent popular financial report. Government Finance Review, 27(5), 41-44.
IPSASB, J. (2014). The conceptual framework for general purpose financial reporting by public sector entities. International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board, the International Federation of Accountants.
Jordan, M. M., Yusuf, J. E., Berman, M., & Gilchrist, C. (2017). Popular financial reports as fiscal transparency mechanisms: An assessment using the fiscal transparency index for the citizen user. International Journal of Public Administration, 40(8), 625-636.
Jordan, M., Yusuf, J. E. W., Mayer, M., & Mahar, K. (2016). What citizens want to know about their government's finances: Closing the information gap. The Social Science Journal, 53(3), 301-308.
Jordan, M. M., Yusuf, J. E., Berman, M., & Gilchrist, C. (2017). Popular financial reports as fiscal transparency mechanisms: An assessment using the fiscal transparency index for the citizen user. International Journal of Public Administration, 40(8), 625-636.
Leal, D., Troian, A., Silveira, N. S. M., Quispe, J. N., & Goularte, J. L. L. Benefícios Financeiros e Não Financeiros dos Observatórios Sociais do Estado do Paraná. Anais do Salão Internacional de Ensino, Pesquisa e Extensão, 10(3).
Lee, M. (2006). The history of municipal public reporting. Intl Journal of Public Administration, 29(4-6), 453-476.
Lencastre, J. A., & Chaves, J. H. (2007). A importância dos utilizadores no processo de construção de um sítio web educativo.
Lima, D. V., Wilbert, M. D., JÚNIOR, J. G. D. A., Reichert, E. A., & de Castro, A. R. (2021). Observatório Covid-Prev: contribuição para a transparência e accountability na gestão pública em tempos de pandemia. Revista Catarinense da Ciência Contábil, 20, e3199.
Lima, D. V., Silva, L. M. V. C. D., & Varão, R. (2022). Introdução de relatórios financeiros populares nos conselhos municipais de saúde do Brasil. Revista Contemporânea de Contabilidade, 19(51), 9.
Ling Wei, T., Davey, H., & Coy, D. (2008). A disclosure index to measure the quality of annual reporting by museums in New Zealand and the UK. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 9(1), 29-51.
Lopes, J. E. D. M., Ribeiro, R. B., & Cavalcante, P. R. N. (2010). A informação contábil à luz da teoria da comunicação. Revista Ambiente Contábil-Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte-ISSN 2176-9036, 1(2), 22-37.
Maia, M. D. N. M. (2013). Autonomia administrativa, financeira e orçamentária: construindo um modelo de gestão estratégica.
Manes-Rossi, F. (2019). New development: alternative reporting formats: a panacea for accountability dilemmas?. Public Money & Management, 39(7), 528-531.
Martins, F. V. D. S. P., & de Lima, D. V. (2021). Directives for public entities’ popular financial reporting. Revista Contemporânea de Contabilidade, 18(47), 91-108.
Melo, M. R. (2022). Em defesa da democracia brasileira: pelo alargamento da democracia. Editora Dialética.
Miranda, L. C., de Moura Silva, A. J., Ribeiro Filho, J. F., & da Silva, L. M. (2008). Uma análise sobre a compreensibilidade das informações contábeis governamentais comunicadas pelo Balanço Orçamentário. BBR-Brazilian Business Review, 5(3), 209-228.
Nunes, S. P., & Lima, D. D. (2017). Uma análise crítica da estrutura conceitual do setor público no Brasil. In XVI Congresso de Contabilidade e Auditoria-CICA (Vol. 3, p. 2017).
Oliveira, Â. F. L. (2016). Popular reporting nos municípios portugueses (Master's thesis, FEUC).
Paton, W. A. (1940). Last-in, first-out. Journal of Accountancy (pre-1986), 69(000005), 354.
Rodrigues, J. D., da Silva, G. D., & de Vargas, S. B. (2021). Popular Reporting à Luz da Teoria da Comunicação: Um Ensaio Teórico. Administração Pública e Gestão Social, 13(1).
Sharp, F. C., Carpenter, F. H., & Sharp, R. F. (1998). Popular financial reports for citizens. The CPA Journal, 68(3), 34.
Teixeira, F. C., SILVA, R. D. D. O., & BONA, R. J. (2012, June). O processo de desenvolvimento de uma identidade visual. In Congresso brasileiro de ciências da comunicação da região sul (Vol. 8).
Yusuf, J. E. W., & Jordan, M. M. (2012). Effective popular financial reports: The citizen perspective. Journal of Government Financial Management, 61(4).
Yusuf, J. E., Jordan, M. M., Neill, K. A., & Hackbart, M. (2013). For the people: Popular financial reporting practices of local governments. Public Budgeting & Finance, 33(1), 95-113.
Zanetti, E., & Zart, C. O. (2021). Comunicação: história, componentes, formas e ruídos. Revista Organização Sistêmica, 10(18), 27-43
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 REVISTA AMBIENTE CONTÁBIL - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this magazine agree with the following terms:
Authors keep the copyrights and concede the right of its first publication to the magazine. The work piece must be simultaneously licensed on the Creative Commons Attribution Licence which allows the paper sharing, and preserves both the author identity and the right of first publication to this magazine.
Authors are authorized to assume additional contracts separately, to not-exclusively distribution of the paper version published in this magazine (e.g.: publish in institutional repository or as a book chapter), with the author identity recognition and its first publication in this magazine.
Authors are permitted and stimulated to publish and distribute their papers online (e.g.: in institutional repository or on their personal webpage), considering it can generate productive alterations, as well as increase the impact and the quotations of the published paper.
Creative Commons - Atribuição-NãoComercial-SemDerivações 4.0 Internacional.
Português (Brasil)
English
Español (España)