State General Accounting

Today, besides being part of all the branches of Government administration, the State General Accounting Department is a strongly integrated coherent structure. It is composed of a central body - RGS - headquartered in Rome, Via XX Settembre, 97 - with 10 Directorate Generals (9 General Inspectorates and the Research Unit of the Department), 14 Central Budget Offices (UCB) within the administrative offices of ministries (with portfolio) and 103 Local RGS (Ragionerie Territoriali dello Stato - RTS) spread across the whole national territory. In terms of its structure, the State General Accounting Department represents the Ministry of the Economy and Finance.

Its remit includes the preparation of the annual budget, with its variation and adjustment measures, and the preparation of the multi-year government budget, as well as the draft budget law and related measures.

It also takes care of the Treasury office's compliance procedures and audits its trends and cash flows, ensuring they are linked up with compliance procedures to meet financial requirements.

In addition, during a preliminary audit, it is called upon to i) express its opinion on any statutory instrument or other piece of legislation drafted by the Goverment that may have a direct or indirect impact on public financial and economic management; ii) ensure consistent interpretation and enforcement of accounting standards; The State General Accounting Department (RGS) is responsible for auditing the quantification of the costs resulting from regulatory  changes or  new measures and for monitoring government expenditure, coordinating and reviewing its trends and performing statutory  audits, including inspections; it also monitors administrative and accounting procedures, which - by law - are to be performed by the Central budget offices within the Ministries and the Local RGS, and performs monitoring functions over the financial management of public bodies.

The State General Accounting Department  also operates internationally, especially through financial relations with the European Union, which have grown and become more complex over the last few years. The State General Accounting Department (RGS) participates in the preparation, implementation and certification of the EU budget, especially through the quantification of the national contribution to the EU budget, it manages and monitors the financial flows with the European Union, especially the Revolving Fund. The State General Accounting Department's main operations include managing the process for accessing  EU funds allocated to Italy and the transfer of EU funds to Ministries and private institutions.

Over and above these responsibilities, the State General Accounting Department also makes proposals to introduce innovative regulations in the economic and financial sector.

The State General Accounting Department - RGS - is headed by the Accountant General, who is appointed by the Government on the advice of the Minister of the Economy and Finance. The Accountant General ensures consistency in the application of policy and in the coordination of activities carried out by the State General Accounting Department (RGS) and by the system of local RGS coming within the purview of the State General Accounting Department. He is also personally responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of accounting records for effective account reconciliation for the whole State administration. He also acts as an advisor to the Ministry of the Economy and Finance with regard to the drafting of measures related to accounting.