Abstract
The most recent financial crisis and the subsequent debt crisis, which particularly hit the euro zone strongly, has brought the public sector to focus on solid, comparable and transparent financial accounting. In addition to traditional retrospective financial accounting and reporting, future-oriented long term perspectives of sustainable public finances are gaining attention. While longterm projections have become popular at a national level, they have been less relevant at subnational levels (states, cantons, regions). This article addresses the questions, how long-term projections can be beneficial at subnational level and how they could be shaped.