Jorge, SusanaBrunelli, SandroPattaro, Anna FrancescaNogueira, Sónia P.2026-02-022026-02-022026Jorge, S.; Brunelli, S.; Pattaro, A. F.; Nogueira, S. P. (2025) Political use of financial information in local governments: a cross-country study of Italy and Portugal. In XXV Grudis Conference and Doctoral Colloquium. Iscte: Lisboa. ISBN 978-989-584-255-1. p. 78-79978-989-584-255-1http://hdl.handle.net/10198/35663This paper explores the measurement of the use of financial information (FI) by politicians at the local level. It develops a comparative study between Portuguese and Italian municipalities. The use of FI is analysed in different political settings for financial decision-making and accountability, namely considering council meetings discussing the annual budget and accounts. The comparative case studies evidenced that, even if admitting some misunderstanding of use of accrual-based terms in the Italian context, cash-based information continues to be preferred, and the most important moment when politicians use this type of information in in local councils’ meetings discussing the annual budget.engAccounting LanguageBudget InformationAccounting Information UsageMeasurementDocument Content Analysisconference object