Doppik is an artificial word and stands for double-entry bookkeeping as introduced in local authorities. Prior to this, simple bookkeeping with income and expenditure accounting was used. Its biggest disadvantage was that only pure cash flows were shown, making it almost impossible to monitor results.

As part of the new municipal management model (NKS), the legal basis for accounting in the municipal sector was created in Lower Saxony, which depicts municipal activities in a similar way to companies operating under commercial law. At the heart of this double-entry system is double-entry bookkeeping, which shows both the balance sheet assets and the increase or loss in value in terms of income and expenses, as well as the inflow and outflow of liquid funds.

In this way, a differentiated picture is drawn of the assets and liabilities of the municipality, which is intended to provide information on the financial impact of municipal and political action, particularly in terms of intergenerational equity. Within this framework, budgets are drawn up and then checked against the annual financial statements, on the basis of which the consolidated financial statements ultimately supplement the perspective at Group level.