Court of Accounts demands Ceuta correct its financial management: key points 2023

Key data

Ceuta's General Account for fiscal year 2023 does not pass the scrutiny of the Court of Accounts. The Resolution of May 21, 2026, approved by the Joint Commission for Relations with the Court of Accounts and published in the BOE on July 13, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-15276), urges the Autonomous City to correct a set of deficiencies that compromise the transparency and legality of its accounts. These are not minor observations: the problems detected affect the very foundation of the budgetary and financial management of the Ceuta administration.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution identifies five major areas of deficiency and requires specific measures for each one. Below are all the problems detected and the required corrections:

In addition to the above corrections, the resolution urges the Autonomous City to adopt the Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) methodology as a tool to improve the efficiency of public spending. This methodology involves justifying each budget item from scratch in each fiscal year, without assuming that historical spending is automatically valid.

Economic and operational impact

The identified deficiencies are not merely formal: they have direct economic and operational consequences for the management of the Autonomous City.

• Overvalued treasury surplus: If the treasury surplus is inflated, the administration may be making spending decisions based on liquidity that does not actually exist. Correcting it may require significant budget adjustments.
• Budget modifications without coverage: This recurring practice implies that actual spending exceeds what was budgeted without financial backing, which compromises the sustainability of the accounts and may lead to structural imbalances.
• Delays in payments to suppliers: Non-compliance with legal payment deadlines generates additional costs (late payment interest) and deteriorates the relationship with the business sector that provides services to the Ceuta administration.
• Outdated inventory: A poorly valued inventory distorts the net worth of the administration and may affect decision-making on investment, depreciation and asset management.
• Adoption of Zero-Based Budgeting: Its implementation involves a profound methodological change that requires additional human and technical resources, but in the medium term should generate savings by eliminating unjustified inefficient spending.

Who does it affect?

• Autonomous City of Ceuta: As the audited institution, it is the main party obligated to adopt all corrective measures.
• General Intervention of Ceuta: Must be strengthened and the position of General Comptroller, which is currently not permanently occupied, must be permanently filled.
• Treasury Department of Ceuta: Responsible for implementing the Annual Financial Control Plan and leading the transition to Zero-Based Budgeting.
• Suppliers and companies that contract with the Autonomous City: Indirectly affected by payment delays, which must be corrected to comply with late payment regulations.
• Citizens and taxpayers of Ceuta: The correction of these deficiencies affects the quality and transparency of the management of the City's public resources.

Practical example

Imagine that the Treasury Department of Ceuta approves a budget modification to finance extraordinary spending, but without identifying a real source of financing to back it. According to the resolution, this practice—which the Court of Accounts describes as "recurring"—must be eliminated. If, moreover, the treasury surplus with which that coverage is justified is overvalued, the problem is aggravated: the administration would be spending on a fictitious financial basis.

In parallel, a supplier that has supplied material to the Autonomous City in 2023 and has not been paid within legal deadlines has the right to claim late payment interest. The accumulation of these cases generates a hidden liability that the resolution requires to be corrected systematically.

With the implementation of Zero-Based Budgeting, each department will have to justify from scratch each item in the next budget cycle, which may involve the elimination or reduction of spending programs that were being renewed automatically without efficiency analysis.

What should the administration do now?

1. Permanently fill the position of General Comptroller: This is the most urgent measure, since without a permanent person responsible for internal control, the rest of the corrections cannot be implemented with guarantees.
2. Implement the Annual Financial Control Plan: Design and approve the plan for the next fiscal year, establishing internal audit procedures and spending monitoring.
3. Review and correct the treasury surplus: Audit the calculation of the surplus to adjust it to the real financial situation and avoid spending decisions based on incorrect data.
4. Update the inventory of assets: Conduct a complete inventory and value it according to the accounting criteria applicable to public administrations.
5. Eliminate budget modifications without coverage: Establish an internal protocol that requires identifying the source of financing before approving any budget modification.
6. Adopt measures to comply with payment deadlines to suppliers: Review invoice processing procedures and enable the necessary mechanisms to comply with late payment regulations.
7. Begin the transition to Zero-Based Budgeting: Train technical teams and design the application methodology for the next budget cycle.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Notice: 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-2026-15276