www.doppikvergleich.de is a database which contains information about the local government accounting reform in Germany. In 2003 the Standing Conference of the Laender Interior Ministers (IMK) passed guidelines for an output and accrual based budgeting and accounting system.  From this point on the German states, called Bundesländer, have the choice to adopt these guidelines and to implement the new accrual accounting system or to continue with the cash accounting system.

The Federal Republic of Germany consists of 16 independent states and each of them has the possibility to regulate the accounting system for the municipalities in his territory. The states parliaments are the accounting standard setting bodies. The different state laws of the individual states are regularly called "Gemeindeordnung”. They are different in detail, but they share some basic features, which are developed in the guidelines of the IMK:

• double-entry bookkeeping,
• accrual based accounting and reporting,
• cash flow statements,
• budgeted outputs.
  

The majority of the states in Germany introduced accrual accounting in their municipalities. In three states (Bavaria, Thuringia, Schleswig-Holstein), there is an option to use cash accounting or accruals.

The aim of this database and project is to show more transparency around different regulations and laws in Germany in accountancy for the local authorities. Please click  here for a comparison (german). 

Since 2014 the database also  contains information about International Public Sector Accounting Standards -IPSAS. A comparison with the national regulations and law in Germany for the local authorities is possible.

Example Database Search

Presentation of financial Statements (german)

KGSt and Bertelsmann Foundation see themselves as partners of local authorities. Under the project entitled "Comparative Doppik" they support the development and application of new double-entry budgeting and accounting.

KGSt (Kommunale Gemeinschaftsstelle für Verwaltungsmanagement) is an association of local authorities for the purpose of modernizing public management. KGSt is a service-orientated organization. Its main objectives are 

• to develop  principles and visions for more efficiency and effectiveness in public management,
• to upgrade the quality of local management,
• to encourage the exchange of views and experiences between local authorities.

KGSt has a variety of services on offer, including:

• Publications
  
• Conferences, Events and Training
• Benchmarking
• Advisory
• Networks
  
  

Areas of Activity

• finance
• social affairs, youth, health
• education
• integration
• demographic change
• building
• IT
• HR
  

Additionally KGSt is working in some international networks to improve the experience of german local authorities.

Members

We have more than 1.900 members (towns, cities and counties) in Germany and Austria with about 60 Million inhabitants.

Chairman

Rainer Christian Beutel

Contact Us

KGSt is located in Cologne.

KGSt
Gereonstr. 18-32
50670 Köln
phone: +49 221 37689-40

fax: +49 221 37689-59

Website: http://www.kgst.de/home/

Our Mission

“Inspiring people. Shaping the future. Participating in a globalized world.” That phrase sums up the work carried out by the Bertelsmann Stiftung. As we see it, if everyone is to participate then everyone must have the ability to get involved and society must offer all of its citizens the chance to succeed.

Germany currently faces a number of daunting challenges resulting from globalization, demographic change, the growing diversity of the country’s population and its ongoing development into a knowledge-based society.

The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s programs are therefore designed to strengthen society and help individuals reach their full potential by developing the resources needed to achieve those goals.  

Our work focuses on people, since individuals must be in a position to participate – politically, economically and culturally – as the world grows more complex. The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s programs provide access to the necessary knowledge and expertise while developing solutions that can help ensure this is the case.

Contact Us

The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s headquarters have been located in Carl-Bertelsmann-Straße in Gütersloh since 1991.

Bertelsmann Stiftung
Carl-Bertelsmann-Str. 256
33311 Gütersloh
Germany
Tel.: +49 5241 81-0
Fax: +49 5241 81-81999

www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de