Determinanty (nie)przejrzystości finansów samorządowych

Purpose – The aim of the article is to identify the determinants of transparency of local government finance and to indicate which of them positively and negatively affect its level, with particular emphasis on the situation in Poland. Research method – The article is theoretical in nature, based on a review of the literature on the subject in economics and finance, organisation and management, and sociology. The method of descriptive analysis and comparative analysis was used. Results – The role of local government reporting as a source of useful information is restricted. The flow of information about the condition of self-government finance and communal assets between the self-government authorities and the inhabitants is limited. Frequent changes in the legal regulations of self-government finance increase its opacity. Centralisation of public finance limits the financial independence of the local government and negatively affects the transparency of its finance. Originality/value/implications/recommendations – Studies on the evaluation of transparency of local government finance in Poland are rarely undertaken. Attention was paid to the supply-side and demand-side approaches to transparency in local government finance. Determinants of financial transparency of local government units were identified in their further environment (macro-environment) in the socio-cultural, political-legal, economic dimension, and in their closer environment (micro-environment) in the institutional dimension.