REGULATION on municipal accounting (RCCom) - [ 5, 7 ] (HGB)

1. The provisions of this regulation set the rules regarding the establishment of the budget and the investment expenditure plan and the maintenance of accounts for municipalities, municipal fractions, confraternities, municipal associations, municipal federations, and urban agglomerations.

2. Inter-municipal agreements are also subject to this regulation.

3. Notwithstanding this regulation, the public entities mentioned in the previous paragraphs may establish their budgets and maintain their accounts in accordance with the provisions of the MCH2 manual issued by the General Directorate of Institutional Affairs and Municipalities.

1. Municipal finances are managed in accordance with the principles of legality, judicious and economical use of funds, and budgetary balance.

1. Accounting must provide a clear, complete, and true picture of the communal finances, assets, and debts.

2. The following rules are also applicable

a. the budget and operating account, the expenditure plan and investment schedule, as well as the balance sheet are established for the calendar year;

b. accounting is kept using the double-entry system;

c. budgetary appropriations may not be used for purposes other than those provided for in the budget;

d. an unused budgetary appropriation lapses at the end of the financial year;

e. revenues and expenditures may not be offset.

1. Municipalities shall apply the accounting plan that is an integral part of the regulation.

2. The department responsible for relations with the municipalities (hereinafter: the department) may issue implementing measures.

1. The municipality establishes the operating budget.

1. The budget includes current expenses and revenues, including mandatory depreciation.

2. The budget for each intercommunal agreement is presented jointly with the municipal budget.

1. A budgetary center is opened in the administrative classification for each public task financed by a dedicated tax or special levy.

1. The budget proposal is submitted by the municipality to the general or communal council no later than November 15 of each year. It is referred for examination by a committee.

1. The vote on the budget takes place before December 15.

2. If the budget is not adopted before the beginning of the fiscal year, the municipality may only incur expenses essential to the proper functioning of the administration.

1. The municipality ensures that the allocated funds are not exceeded.

2. When a credit is exhausted, no additional expenditures may be incurred without the prior authorization of the general or municipal council, subject to the provisions of Article 11.

1. The municipality may only incur unforeseeable and exceptional expenses up to an amount and under the conditions set by the council at the beginning of the legislative term.

2. These expenses are then subject to the approval of the general or municipal council.

1. The operating budget is subject to the prefect's approval on official forms, no later than December 31. The latter immediately forwards them to the department.

1. The following are considered investments: the purchase, creation, or improvement of durable goods forming part of the administrative heritage, as well as

a. transfers from financial heritage to administrative heritage;

b. the granting of one-time subsidies;

c. equity participations for the performance of public tasks.

1. Any investment is subject to prior notification to the general or municipal council indicating its purpose, the amount of credit, the mode of financing, the amortization period, and the operational costs it entails. Article 4, number 6 LC [A] is reserved.

1. An investment of less than fifty thousand francs may, if necessary, be included in the operating budget.

1. The municipality ensures that investment credits are not exceeded.

2. When a credit is exhausted, any additional expenditure must be brought to the attention of the general or municipal council by written communication. It is then submitted for approval as soon as possible.

1. The depreciation periods for mandatorily depreciable investments recorded as assets on the balance sheet (including wastewater treatment plants, water networks, and district heating systems) are determined according to the asset category in Annex 1.

a. ...

b. ...

2. The department may exceptionally authorize specific depreciation periods for assets that do not have a corresponding or assimilable category in Annex 1.

3. Investments in gas infrastructure shall be depreciated in accordance with the basic document "Standard de la branche régissant le calcul de la rétribution pour l'utilisation des réseaux de gaz locaux" (Industry Standard governing the calculation of remuneration for the use of local gas networks), issued by the Swiss Gas Industry Association, as of November 1, 2018.

4. Investments in electricity infrastructure shall be depreciated in accordance with the "Schéma de calcul des coûts pour les gestionnaires de réseau de distribution CH" (Cost Calculation Scheme for Swiss Distribution Network Operators), issued by the Association of Swiss Electricity Companies, 2023 edition.

5. The depreciation periods provided for by resolutions adopted by the general or municipal council before January 1, 2024, shall continue to apply and may not be modified.

1. The municipality annually establishes the investment expenditure plan.

2. This plan is presented to the general or municipal council at the same time as the operating budget; it is not subject to a vote.

1. This plan comprises

a. the expenses for the year to be drawn from investment appropriations already voted by the general or communal council;

b. the expenses for the year to be drawn from investment appropriations to be voted by the general or communal council;

c. the method of financing.

1. The investment expenditure plan is submitted for approval by the prefect on official forms, no later than December 31. The latter immediately forwards them to the department.

1. The municipality is responsible for the accounts.

1. The municipal accounts are composed of

a. the operating account;

b. the balance sheet;

c. the investment table;

d. a list of off-balance sheet commitments;

e. the accounts of each intermunicipal agreement presented jointly with the municipal accounts.

1. Any request for a modification to a municipality's debt ceiling shall be subject to a thorough examination of the municipality's financial situation by the Council of State.

2. In its examination, the Council of State shall base its assessment on

- the budget and annual accounts of the municipality concerned,

- financial planning.

3. The municipality's financial situation shall be analyzed based on management indicators and financial analysis ratios approved by the Conference of Cantonal Supervisory Authorities for Municipal Finances.

1. The municipality's accounting shall notably include

a. a double-entry journal chronologically recording all accounting operations;

b. accounts classified in the order of the administrative classification of the chart of accounts;

c. all books, registers, files, documents and other media necessary for the proper maintenance and easy verification of the accounts.

2. All these documents shall be carefully preserved and classified in the municipal archives.

1. The operating account includes

a. the expenses and revenues of a financial year;

b. the depreciation of investments;

c. the allocations to and withdrawals from renewal, reserve, and special financing funds.

1. The balance sheet is prepared as of December 31 of each year.

1. The balance sheet includes on the asset side

- Financial assets

a. cash and cash equivalents;

b. debtors;

c. fixed-income securities and investments at a maximum of their nominal value, and shares at a maximum of their market value;

d. land and buildings not allocated to public utility tasks, at a maximum of their acquisition cost; in the event of subsequent investment (transformations, renovations), they can only be recorded up to their tax assessment value;

e. accrued assets;

- Administrative assets

a. civil engineering and sanitation works, buildings and constructions assigned to the execution of public tasks at their acquisition or cost price, less depreciation;

b. technical installations of public utilities at their book value;

c. forests, at a maximum of their tax assessment value;

d. furniture, machinery, and vehicles at their acquisition value, less depreciation;

e. goods and supplies, at a maximum of their purchase price;

f. loans and endowment capital, at their book value;

g. securities and other transferable securities, at their market value, but at a maximum of their nominal value;

h. subsidies and other participations to be depreciated;

i. temporary cash advances intended to finance public tasks legally covered by fees or by a specific earmarked tax;

j. overdraft.

1. The balance sheet shall include on the liabilities side

a. creditors;

b. bank accounts;

c. consolidated loans;

d. commitments to own establishments and special funds;

e. transitional liabilities;

f. funds fed by earmarked revenues;

g. renewal and renovation funds;

h. reserve funds;

i. capital.

1. Off-balance sheet commitments are represented by guarantees and other assurances provided by the municipality.

1. The investment schedule is established on December 31 of each year.

1. The investment schedule includes, on the debit side, expenditures for the acquisition, creation, or improvement of assets belonging to the administrative heritage, accounted for as assets on the balance sheet, namely

a. civil engineering and sanitation works, including land;

b. buildings and constructions, including land;

c. industrial services installations, including distribution networks;

d. forests;

e. furniture, machinery, and vehicles;

f. goods and supplies;

g. other assets;

h. loans, subsidies, and investment participations;

i. other expenditures to be amortized, such as expropriation indemnities related to spatial planning;

j. the decrease in investments.

1. The investment table includes, on the credit side

a. the book value of administrative assets transferred to financial assets;

b. contributions and participations from third parties;

c. subsidies;

d. amounts drawn from reserves;

e. depreciation/amortization;

f. the increase in investments.

1. The accounts shall be closed as soon as possible, no later than April 15th of each year.

2. The municipality shall proceed with their examination. It shall verify them or have them thoroughly verified.

1. The balance sheet items as of December 31st are substantiated by the following documents and inventories

a. the cash statement;

b. the statements of account from the postal cheque office;

c. the bank account statements;

d. the inventory of securities;

e. the supporting documents for loan balances;

f. the inventory of real estate properties;

g. the inventory of debtors;

h. the inventory of creditors;

i. all other inventories.

1. The report of the municipality on the management and the accounts closed as of the previous December 31, accompanied, if applicable, by the report-certification of the auditor, shall be submitted to the general or municipal council no later than May 31 of each year and referred for examination by a committee.

1. The management committee shall conduct a thorough examination of the accounts. This examination may, if necessary, be entrusted to the finance committee.

1. Within the scope of their mandate, these commissions have unlimited investigatory rights.

2. The municipality is obligated to provide them with all necessary documents and information.

1. Municipal accounts must be audited annually by a revision body in all municipalities, associations of municipalities, intercommunal agreements, and other public-law entities with more than 300 inhabitants or with operating accounts exceeding 1.5 million, as well as in all municipalities that collect their own taxes.

2. This audit is conducted based on minimal guidelines set forth by the department.

3. These guidelines are also applied by the management or finance committee of municipalities that are not subject to a revision body.

1. The audit of accounts can only be conducted by a person holding a federal diploma as a specialist in finance and accounting or a qualification deemed equivalent by the department.

2. For municipalities whose total balance sheet exceeds CHF 50 million and whose total operating account is greater than CHF 25 million for a period of two consecutive years, the audit of the municipalities' accounts must be carried out by a particularly qualified auditor, with the criteria being those mentioned in Article 1 of the Federal Ordinance on the Professional Qualifications of Particularly Qualified Auditors.

1. The written report and any observations from the management committee, or if applicable, the finance committee, the responses from the municipality, and the documents referred to in Article 34 shall be communicated in copy to each councilor at least ten days before the deliberation or made available to the members of the council for ten days.

2. The municipality has the right to be heard on the management and the accounts.

1. The vote on management and accounts takes place no later than June 30 of each year.

1. The accounts of the municipality and the management report, adopted by the general or municipal council, are submitted for examination and endorsement by the prefect no later than July 15th each year, accompanied, if applicable, by the audit report.

2. Within the same timeframe, the municipality submits the summaries of municipal accounts on official forms provided by the department.

3. The prefect may require the submission of all accounting records or any document.

1. The examination and endorsement of accounts by the prefect do not abolish or limit the responsibility of the municipal bodies.

2. The prefect sends his observations to the municipality, which is required to respond without delay and to provide all requested information.

1. If corrections need to be made, the prefect shall make a note of them on the balance sheet accounts. He orders the municipality to proceed with the adjustment entries.

1. Once the verification operations are completed, the prefect sends the summary of the accounts to the department no later than August 15th.

1. The Prefect shall require, after at least one formal notice, the designation by the department of one or more experts tasked with establishing or revising the accounts

a. if the accounts are not transmitted to him within the period specified in Article 38;

b. if the accounts submitted contain inaccuracies or omissions, or if they are not prepared in accordance with these regulations.

2. The municipality is obliged to provide all documents, registers, and records necessary for the expert assessment.

3. The expert's report shall be sent to the department and to the Prefect. The latter shall transmit it to the municipality after reviewing it.

4. The costs of the expert assessment shall be borne by the municipality.

1. The bursar is the person responsible for maintaining the accounts, as appointed by the municipality.

1. The scholarship holder cannot be a legal entity.

1. The municipality establishes the rules of jurisdiction for the collections and payments.

2. However, requests for bank withdrawals or securities must be collectively signed by the syndic or the designated city councilor and the treasurer.

3. The treasurer ensures the regular collection of due and payable amounts.

1. Surplus liquid funds exceeding current needs must be deposited into a postal checking account or with the Vaud Cantonal Bank, the Vaud Mortgage Credit Bank, the Swiss National Bank, or another institution approved by the general or communal council. These accounts must be opened in the name of the municipality.

1. The treasurer regularly provides the municipality with all information necessary for the sound financial management of the commune.

2. He may request to be heard by the municipality.

1. Upon leaving office, the municipality shall prepare an interim balance sheet and an inventory of the books, records, and documents that will be handed over to their successor.

1. The department may request additional information from the municipalities for statistical purposes.

1. The Decree of February 12, 1943, on the Accounting of Municipalities, Fractions of Municipalities, Charitable Funds, Foundations, and Special Funds Managed by Municipalities or Municipal Councils is Repealed.

1. The fund for the poor must be integrated into the municipality's balance sheet no later than January 1, 1981.

1. The Department of the Interior and Public Health [C] is responsible for the implementation of this regulation.