The present work is the first extract of the research entitled "Programming and control processes and instruments of local government units in Emilia-Romagna", coordinated by Professor Enrico Deidda Gagliardo and performed in Ferrara University.
The aim of this project is to understand whether processes and instruments of programming, accounting and internal control, compulsory or optional, are used by local government units in Emilia-Romagna. Consequentially, we plan to evaluate the suitability of these processes and instruments for the local government units' requirements and features. The research will be carried out using a deductive - inductive method.
In chapter 1 the research and its main features will be presented. General subject background and the reasons for the research will be explained, and then the research questions will be stated. After analysis of the expected results, we will set the research's spatio-temporal borders and the approach. Moreover, after choosing and stratifying the representative sample, the methodology and its phases will be depicted. After presenting the research's structure and questionnaire, the general results will be summarised and then analysed in detail in specific papers. Subsequently, the general contents of programming and control in local government units in Emilia-Romagna and specific contents of local programming will be depicted. The present paper's subject will be about the processes and instruments of programming by local government units in Emilia-Romagna.
Chapter 2 will examine the processes and instruments defined by law, national accounting standards and business economics doctrine; in particular, analytical programming instruments will be stressed: Piano Esecutivo di Gestione and Piano Dettagliato degli Obiettivi. In addition, section 2 of the questionnaire, focused on local programming, will be illustrated.
Chapter 3 will explain synthetic and analytical results of the empirical research, focusing on pervasiveness of processes and instruments of programming and will be completed by showing some experiences of excellence.
In chapter 4 the research will involve analysis of the processes and instruments of programming, both compulsory (defined by law or national accounting standards) and optional (suggested by business economics doctrine or virtuous praxis), and determine if they are suitable for local government units' requirements and features.