Abstract
Financial statements of public hospitals are prepared by accountants and are audited by Certified Public Accountants and they are the only reliable information that reflects the real financial performance. The accounting information provided is useful to users for transparency, accountability purposes, and decision-making regarding the public management of hospitals. The purpose of this study is to investigate the preparation of audited financial statements, the benchmarking of key operational and financial figures, the analysis of financial figures with cost indicators, and the qualitative analysis of certified public accountants’ audit reports per hospital and per health region for the period from 2019 until 2021. The audited Financial Statements as published on the website of the Ministry of Health and the yearly hospital activity open data from the Business Intelligence (BI-Health) Platform were collected and processed. The analysis demonstrates key financial figures of the Balance Sheet and the Profit and Loss Statement and useful cost indicators for the period from 2014 until 2021. Overall, this study strengthens the idea that accrual accounting and the preparation of financial statements in public hospitals should be a management tool and not only a legal obligation. The financial reporting enhances performance management, effective management of public assets, and policymaking for public health.
