Debt containment rules in the era of true and fair accounting: Fiscal leeway between hammer and anvil

Deviations from modern public sector accounting principles and standards are potentially politically motivated. To avoid jeopardizing adherence to the institutionalized self-constraining debt brake mechanisms, financial flexibility is aimed to be preserved in the institutional framework governing public finances. This paper elaborates and discusses potential tensions between debt containment rules and the application of true and fair accounting at the example of three Swiss cantons by building on case-based empirical evidence, which was gained out of semi-structured interviews.