Budget transparency as an important condition for strengthening the financial self-sufficiency of territorial communities

Abstract

The article characterizes theoretical principles of the impact of budget transparency on ensuring the financial self-sufficiency of territorial communities determined by the ability of their authorities to finance in full the spending powers for solving social and cultural needs of the daily life of both individual residents and the community in general at the expense of the financial resources formed in local budgets. The content of a number of interrelated key characteristics (transparency, openness, timeliness, accountability, credibility) and types of budget transparency (political, economic, procedural, public, regulatory, institutional) is highlighted and revealed, taking into account the key areas of their manifestation. Attention is focused on the main problems of budgetary transparency of territorial communities: a decrease in trust and respect for the authorities on the part of citizens, a lack of open dialogue with representatives of the authorities, and a low level of readiness of society to participate in the decision-making process for solving local problems. The article justifies that ensuring the accountability of authorities and effective involvement of the community in the budget process requires the development and implementation of an effective communication strategy at the level of territorial communities, the creation of expert platforms, the spread of the practice of forming local budgets on a participatory basis, the development and launch of complex public finance management systems, and comprehensive evaluation of budget transparency, which would cover all local budgets. Particular attention is paid to highlighting the forms of citizen involvement in managing the finances of territorial communities in terms of the stages of the budget cycle and the possible effects of such participation. The article offers the following directions for strengthening the financial self-sufficiency of the budgets of territorial communities based on the increase in the level of budget transparency - increasing the loyalty and trust of economic agents in the activities of subnational governments, activating the financing of investment projects of local importance due to the increase in participation in the process of planning, formation, and use of local budget baskets, and optimization of the budgetary resources spending due to the growing interest of members of the territorial community in solving issues of local importance.