Making Public Finance Public traces the development of fiscal transparency and accountability in the field of public finance in three post-communist European states yet to qualify for membership in the secure and prosperous borders of the European Union: Croatia, Macedonia, and Ukraine. These case studies focus not on transparency at the national level as many studies have in the past, but seek the answers to essential questions that require immediate redress: how can local governments and their constituents in these countries cooperate to make local budgets understandable and accountable to the general public ; how can national legislation be amended to enshrine the principles of accountability in law ; and how can citizens arm themselves with the skills and tools necessary to ensure the efficacy and transparency of local government budgets at risk from corruption, mismanagement, and closed decision- making. In this groundbreaking and fascinating study, LGI’s Subnational Budget Watch Fellows have taken the lead in recommending the steps to take, steps extremely relevant to countries across the region and of particular use to nongovernmental organizations, academics, think tanks, advocates, and concerned citizens who want to participate in and decide about public spending in their communities. After well over a decade of higher priorities in these transition states, it is time to reprioritize the agenda and look for the improvements that will guarantee better fiscal governance at the local level if both democratization and decentralization are to succeed.