Consolidated accounts of municipalities 2026: what controllers and secretaries must do

Key data

Municipalities, provincial councils and joint municipal bodies face a clear mandate from Congress: the consolidated accounts reporting for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 has not been sufficiently rigorous and must be corrected. The Resolution of June 9, 2026, approved by the Joint Commission for Relations with the Court of Auditors and published in the BOE on October 7, 2026, establishes a set of specific requirements affecting both the central Government and the local entities themselves.

For managers and officials in the local public sector, this is not a generic warning: it implies reviewing accounting processes, updating inventories and preparing for greater scrutiny by the Court of Auditors.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution approved by the Joint Commission articulates mandates at three different levels:

Mandates to the central Government

• Develop homogeneous regulatory standards on local accounting consolidation, eliminating current regulatory dispersion.
• Provide interoperable IT tools that facilitate the consolidation of accounts between entities dependent on local authorities.
• Strengthen technical assistance to local officials with national qualification: secretaries, controllers and treasurers.

Obligations for local entities

• Improve compliance with consolidated accounts reporting, remedying the deficiencies detected in fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
• Update the Inventory of Public Sector Local Entities, ensuring it reflects the reality of the consolidation scope.
• Adopt Zero-Based Budgeting methodology in their budgetary processes.

Institutional cooperation

• Cooperation with FEMP (Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces) is promoted.
• The exchange of best practices between provincial councils, island councils and joint municipal bodies is encouraged.

Requirement for the Court of Auditors

• The Court of Auditors must demonstrate that its conclusions are based on sufficient and technically consistent audit evidence, thereby strengthening the quality of its audit reports.

Economic and operational impact

The resolution does not set direct economic sanctions or specific amounts, but its operational implications are relevant for any local entity:

• Cost of technological adaptation: The requirement for interoperable IT tools means that local entities that do not yet have adequate systems will need to invest in updating or integrating accounting software.
• Additional administrative burden: Updating the Inventory of Public Sector Local Entities and preparing consolidated accounts correctly requires dedication of specialized human resources, especially in entities with multiple dependent organizations.
• Zero-Based Budgeting: The adoption of this methodology represents a fundamental change in how budgets are prepared: each budget item must be justified from scratch, without automatically assuming the continuity of previous spending. This implies training and reorganization of audit teams.
• Greater scrutiny by the Court of Auditors: By requiring that the Court's conclusions be based on sufficient and technically consistent audit evidence, local entities can expect more rigorous and documented audits in the coming fiscal years.

Who does it affect?

• Municipalities of any size that have dependent entities (municipal companies, foundations, autonomous bodies) subject to accounting consolidation.
• Provincial councils, with special attention to their role in assisting smaller municipalities.
• Joint municipal bodies and other supramunicipal entities.
• Island councils (Canary Islands and Balearic Islands).
• Secretaries, controllers and treasurers with national qualification, who are the officials directly responsible for accounts reporting and internal control.
• Advisors and consultants providing audit, accounting or budgetary advisory services to local entities.

Practical example

A medium-sized municipality with three dependent entities (a municipal services company, an autonomous cultural body and a sports foundation) must present consolidated accounts that integrate the economic activity of all of them.

If the Inventory of Public Sector Local Entities of that municipality was not updated and the sports foundation was not correctly included in the consolidation scope, the accounts presented for 2022 and 2023 would be incomplete. With this resolution, the municipal controller is required to:

1. Review and update the inventory to include all dependent entities.
2. Prepare consolidated accounts integrating the financial statements of the three entities.
3. Adopt Zero-Based Budgeting methodology for the next budget fiscal year.
4. Request, if necessary, the enhanced technical assistance provided for in the resolution through the provincial council or FEMP.

What should local entities do now?

1. Review the Inventory of Public Sector Local Entities: Verify that all dependent entities (companies, autonomous bodies, foundations, consortiums) are correctly registered and form part of the consolidation scope.
2. Audit consolidated accounts for 2022 and 2023: Identify whether there are deficiencies in the reporting of those fiscal years and, if applicable, remedy them before the Court of Auditors initiates a new audit.
3. Evaluate current IT tools: Check whether accounting systems allow interoperable consolidation between entities. If not, plan for technological updating.
4. Begin training in Zero-Based Budgeting: Audit teams and budget managers must familiarize themselves with this methodology to apply it in the coming fiscal years.
5. Contact the provincial council or FEMP: Take advantage of the technical assistance channels and best practice exchange mechanisms that the resolution promotes among provincial councils, island councils and joint municipal bodies.
6. Document compliance: Faced with more demanding audits by the Court of Auditors, it is essential that each accounting and budgetary decision is backed by sufficient and technically consistent evidence.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-20887