City of Chemnitz presents opening balance sheet: City's assets amount to 2.5 billion euros
The City of Chemnitz prepared an opening balance sheet for the first time as at 1 January 2011. This opening balance sheet is part of the conversion of the accounting system from cash flow-based cameralistics to double-entry accounting, which depicts the consumption of resources, which has been ongoing since 2011.
The opening balance sheet, which was presented to the city councillors in the Administration and Finance Committee on Thursday evening, shows a balance sheet total of 2.5 billion euros - that is the value of the City of Chemnitz's assets.
The assets of the City of Chemnitz shown in the balance sheet consist mainly of buildings, infrastructure assets and plots of land. The tangible assets include around 1150 buildings, 3700 plots of land with 10,500 parcels of land, 1100 green spaces, 5150 road sections and almost 350 bridges. In total, more than 59,000 individual assets had to be recognised and valued during the several months it took to prepare the opening balance sheet.
The most highly valued building is the town hall with a current value of around 17.4 million euros. Chemnitz's streets, roads and squares have a value of around 508 million euros. The schools are worth around 129 million euros. Green spaces are valued at 93.6 million euros in the balance sheet, forests and woodland at 7.7 million euros.
However, the fixed assets consist not only of property, plant and equipment, but also of financial assets. The assets held by municipal companies such as GGG, CVAG and ESC amount to more than 800 million euros.
The opening balance sheet also shows how the assets of the City of Chemnitz shown on the assets side of the balance sheet are financed. The financing shown on the liabilities side of the balance sheet is broken down into the City of Chemnitz's own funds, subsidies and loans.
"In contrast to other cities, the City of Chemnitz has largely carried out the work of preparing the opening balance sheet with municipal staff. This is one of the main reasons why the opening balance sheet can only be presented now," says Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig.
"However, the opening balance sheet also shows that the city was well managed: The credit ratio of 10 per cent and the equity ratio of 64 per cent, which is comparable with other major cities, show that a consistent debt reduction course has been pursued in recent years despite the difficult budget situation."
City Treasurer Berthold Brehm emphasised that the opening balance sheet presented shows the city's assets and financial position in full for the first time. "Together with the annual financial statements to be prepared in the coming years, the information content on the net assets, financial position and results of operations of the City of Chemnitz will improve," he said.
The further procedure: The City of Chemnitz Audit Office has been subjecting the opening balance sheet to an intensive audit since 1 October 2012. This will be followed by an audit by the Saxon Court of Audit in 2013. The opening balance sheet is expected to be presented to the City Council for approval in the second quarter of 2013 once the audits have been completed. Until then, the balance sheet has a provisional status. This will be followed by the audit by the Saxon Court of Audit in 2013.