Purpose -The aim of this paper is to examine the extent of financial information made available by public administrations on their web sites and to discover whether this communications policy is influenced by the context in which the public entity operates. Design/methodology/approach -The study took as its reference the prior literature and distinguished three dimensions -information content, qualitative characteristics of information and accessibility -which were converted into a disclosure index that was used to assess government web sites. A multivariable linear regression analysis was performed in search of a relationship between seven external factors and the provision of public financial information online. Findings -The empirical research revealed that the sample municipalities were not fully aware of the potential importance of the internet in enabling the achievement of e-democracy initiatives as a tool of new public management. The factors previously found to be important in paper-based reporting seem to have no influence on the public disclosure of financial information on the internet. Only the cost of debt and access to the internet in households seem to be relevant factors in the degree of financial information transparency achieved via the internet. Practical implications -The good practices by greater online public financial transparency could improve the image of governments and the confidence of citizens. Originality/value -This paper tries to encourage a benchmarking process disseminating best practices in online government financial information and identifying the key variables that promote this process.

The way in which public sector entities disseminate information publicly is affected by the degree of transparency adopted, and the construction and management of websites are increasingly essential elements of modern public administration. Nonetheless, differences in this process exist among governments worldwide, probably due to different contextual factors. This article examines and discusses the approach of Anglo-Saxon, South American and Continental European central governments to the use of the Web as a means of making financial disclosures. To measure the disclosure of governmental financial information on the Internet, an index has been defined, taking into consideration the data considered to be relevant for a potential user, gathering the data visiting their websites. The results show that the way different countries use the Web for financial disclosure is deeply rooted in and follows from their administrative culture. In conclusion, the Continental European and South American governments should improve their digital reporting.

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