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In the last years, the worldwide changes in global, political and financial contexts have gradually modified the approaches to the accounting of national governments and international institutions. In this varying scenario, the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) and consequently national governments have introduced new accounting standards along with related regulatory changes. These issues are of ever-growing importance when considering that the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) has recently developed "The basis for conclusions document for 2017-2021 IAESB Strategy and 2017 Work Plan" (IAESB, 2017 with the aim of informing the Board's deliberations on its future strategy and priorities about the future expectations of professional competence. The aim of this paper is to report the findings of an empirical study on this topic and address the following research question: what are professional accountants' views on quality in accounting education? This primary research question is expanded to consider professional accountants' beliefs on the present (what is necessary for their workplace) and future (what will be necessary for their workplace) with respect to quality in accounting education. The survey highlights how professional accountants have more expectations than in the past about their skills. The majority of professional accountants have been transforming themselves into business consultants since they are now required to offer more services than accounting and taxation consultancy. Consequently, there is a growing demand for cooperation with the university world in order to broaden the programs of accounting education with new technical competencies for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

The context of austerity and crisis in the local governments has focused on looking for a solution to avoid the distress while also improving financial health. Therefore, a system to monitor the financial situation of local authorities is needed in order to understand what the governments' proceeding to manage the crisis are. This paper aims to analyse the financial distress in the municipality of Rome to evaluate the processes that occur inside the "black box" of the organizational, institutional and strategic implementation of the reorganization practices and routines, also highlighting what are the indicators of the financial conditions that fall into either a positive or negative area so as to implement adequate planning. The analysis is conducted through an explanatory case study to understand and to explain the reasons for management practices in a condition of financial distress. The main finding shows that the case of Rome represents a good example of the financial resilience through a combination of capacities and reactions such as management of slack resources and income generation.

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The chapter offers a necessary summary of the key concepts of financial conditions, financial sustainability, and intergenerational equity in local governments through a close examination of different approaches. Focusing on a narrative literature review approach, the chapter has two main aims: first, to provide evidence on how to define the terms of theoretical and practical underpinnings to represent financial conditions in local governments in order to clarify the distinctive feature of financial conditions with a particular focus on the specific measures for budgetary solvency: sustainability, flexibility, and vulnerability; second, taking into account that the link between financial sustainability and intergenerational equity seems to be under-investigated, the authors discuss what the conditions for achieving financial health are while ensuring intergenerational equity with reference to the level of citizens' quality of life.