From Accessibility to Assurance? Exploring the Evolution of Popular Financial Reporting in Local Governments

Abstract

Popular Financial Reporting (PFR) has emerged as a significant innovation in public-sector communication, aimed at translating complex financial and performance information into formats accessible to citizens and non-specialist audiences. As PFR evolves beyond simplified fiscal disclosure to include strategic, non-financial, and participatory content, issues of credibility, comparability, and evidentiary robustness become increasingly relevant. Against this background, this study investigates whether subjecting PFR to a sustainability assurance process is conceptually appropriate and practically feasible. To address this question, the paper develops a conceptual framework at the intersection of public governance, dialogic and social accountability, and sustainability assurance, and adopts a qualitative and exploratory research design based on documentary and content analysis of PFRs produced by ten Italian municipalities. The analysis is structured around five dimensions: governance and strategy, structure of the PFR budget, participation and transparency, impact and ex-post evaluation, and assurance and verification. The findings show that PFR is progressively evolving into a broader accountability device rather than remaining a mere simplification of financial statements, with the more advanced cases integrating strategic priorities, financial information, non-financial content, and citizen-oriented communication in increasingly sophisticated ways. At the same time, current practices remain highly heterogeneous in terms of strategic integration, methodological transparency, evaluative capacity, and visibility of internal control mechanisms. None of the analysed cases is subject to an independent assurance engagement, while the absence of stable reporting criteria, traceable evidence, and clearly articulated control structures significantly limits the assurance-readiness of current PFR practices. These findings position PFR as an emerging reporting arena where accessibility, accountability, and verification increasingly intersect, while also reframing sustainability assurance not merely as a technical validation mechanism, but as a potential democratic safeguard for citizen-facing reporting. Overall, the study suggests that sustainability assurance is conceptually relevant to PFR, although only partially feasible under current conditions, and identifies the institutional and methodological preconditions necessary for the development of more credible, transparent, and verifiable forms of participatory public reporting.