ASPECTS OF THE MISSOURI FISCAL PROBLEM 327

NEED FOR ADEQUATE STATISTICS OF Local GOVERNMENTAL
FINANCES
Complete data for functional expenditures by local governments
 in Missouri, as was previously pointed out, are not
available. Although considerable information is compiled
by the State Auditor, the data are not complete since not
ail functions are included, and each year certain counties
fail to report. The need for complete statistics of expenditures
 is in a way more urgent than for statistics of tax levies
or collections and indebtedness, for it is only through expenditures
 statistics that the subject of comparative costs of local
government can be approached. The per capita cost of the
respective local governmental functions in counties in the
several parts of the state would be a most interesting subject
for investigation, but the investigator would undoubtedly
be confronted with incomplete and non-comparable statistics
 in many cases. To the extent that this would be true,
accurate comparisons would be impossible.
If statistics of local governmental expenditures are to serve
their purpose, uniformity is the first requirement. In order
to meet this requirement, local expenditures throughout the
state would have to be classified in the same manner and in
accordance with the classification scheme worked out by the
one responsible for the compiling. Otherwise little in the
way of effective results could be obtained.

MunicipAL! ACCOUNTING
If uniform statistics are to be compiled, at least some
degree of uniformity in accounting procedure is almost a
necessity. The system that is most effective for a city of
considerable size may not be applicable to a county, but at
least comparability within the same class of governmental
divisions is desirable. In order that an indication may be
given of what might be accomplished in Missouri, a brief
resumé of the development of municipal accounting in Wisconsin
 is presented.

tAs used in this section, “municipal” includes counties and all governmental
Jivisions smaller than the state.