Two Sets of Books at City Hall? Grading the Financial Reports of Canada’s Cities

Annual budgets in most of Canada’s major cities are a mess – excluding key activities, using inconsistent accounting, burying crucial numbers where only experts can find them, and often voted well after the fiscal year has started, according the 2016 edition of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Municipal Fiscal Accountability report. In “Two Sets of Books at City Hall? Grading the Financial Reports of Canada’s Cities,” authors Benjamin Dachis, William B.P. Robson, and Jennifer Y. Tsao grade the financial presentations of major Canadian cities in their most recent budgets and financial reports.