Tuesday, October 2, the 2017 edition of the Financial Yearbook of the Portuguese Municipalities was presented in the António Domingues de Azevedo auditorium, in Lisbon.

The data presented show that the financial health of the Portuguese municipalities has improved in the last seven years, in particular the reduction of the total debt of the  municipalities was reduced by 426 million euros in relation to the previous year, according to the Financial Yearbook of the Portuguese Municipalities.

The document also states that the number of municipalities that pay in less than 90 days is increasing. In 2017, only 38 exceeded this deadline, said Maria José Fernandes, one of the authors.

She also pointed out only thirty of the 308 municipalities exceeded the limits of total debt.

In the ranking of the 100 best classified, according to the 11 indicators analyzed in chapter 5 of the Yearbook, there are municipalities of the whole territory and of different dimensions.

The municipality of Marinha Grande (average size) obtained the highest score, followed by Sintra (large size), which was in second place. Among the large municipalities, which according to this list are 19, Sintra, Porto and Oeiras constitute the top 3 of the municipalities best placed in the ranking.

Also noteworthy is the municipality of Barcelos which obtained the best score in the ranking among the municipalities of the district of Braga.

Among the main conclusions are, according to the study, the greater dependence of small municipalities on transfers from the State Budget, which represents an average of 62.1% of the revenue collected by these municipalities, “Which is of course a very high value”, as well as the greater proximity that has occurred in recent years between the value of budgets and budgets executed, which demonstrates greater budgetary efficiency.

The Financial Yearbook of Portuguese Municipalities is coordinated by the Research Center on Accounting and Taxation (CICF), and is supported by the Order of Certified Accountants in close collaboration with the Court of Auditors, the Center for Research in Accounting and Taxation of the IPCA and the University of Minho.