Budget Management System Research Articles

Case Studies of Selected OECD Countries

Canada has a Westminster model of government and therefore does not highlight the legal basis for annual budget processes. A combination of laws, regulations and conventions govern budget preparation, adoption and budget reporting to Parliament. Although the principle of the supremacy of Parliament is enshrined in the Constitution, in practice, the executive – in particular the Cabinet of Ministers – has strong powers regarding the policies and amounts provided in annual budgets. The government has exclusive power to introduce the budget, and the legislature’s power to amend the budget proposed by the executive is extremely limited. Legislation does not provide a deadline for the executive to submit the budget to Parliament. In practice the budget is submitted to Parliament about one month before the fiscal year and adopted about three months after the fiscal year begins. The Constitution Act 1867, the Financial Administration Act 1985 (FAA) and the Auditor General Act 1977 (AGA) are the fundamental statutes governing budgetary processes (Box 1).1 The FAA has played a particularly important role in establishing the budget and financial management system. The Parliament of Canada Act 1875 does not contain any provisions on the parliamentary budget review process.

Democratic Republic of S�o Tom� and Pr�ncipe: 2005 Article IV Consultation and First Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility: Staff Report; Staff Statement; Public Information Notice and Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Democratic Republic of S�o Tom� and Pr�ncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe pursued economic reforms and tried to reduce poverty amidst macroeconomic imbalances under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) program. Executive Directors supported the authorities’ decision to sustain the process of fiscal consolidation, and stressed the need for implementing a good budget and public expenditure management system. They commended the monetary and financial stances and the central bank’s international reserve position; welcomed the authorities' commitment to improve coverage, timeliness, and periodicity of basic macroeconomic statistics; and emphasized to accelerate structural reforms and achieve full transparency in oil revenue management.

Reforming the Russian Budget System: A Move to More Devolved Budget Management?

The Russian federal government has recently initiated a fundamental reform of its budget system, encompassing important policy, procedural, and institutional changes. This paper reviews this reform agenda with reference to the experience of industrial countries that over the past two to three decades have followed a similar reform path toward a more devolved budget management system. From this perspective, the importance of the strength of existing public expenditure management systems to accommodate increased devolution and the scope for employing decentralized agencies is explored. An assessment of the present Russian reform plans in light of this review reveals a number of concerns. First, the speed of the reforms contemplated appears overly ambitious when judged by the experience of other countries. Second, the preparedness of budget institutions is questionable. Third, change management capacity needs strengthening with a more carefully defined strategy. Last, in light of these concerns, it is argued that the scope and big-bang approach of the current reform plans may need reformulation into a more sequenced strategy with clearer reform priorities.

Gender-Responsive Government Budgeting

This paper examines the concept of gender-responsive government budgeting, promoted in recent years by women's nongovernmental organizations, academia, and multilateral organizations, and the extent of its implementation by national governments in both advanced and developing countries. Owing to recently developed analytical and technical tools, government budget management systems in some countries can help promote gender equality-to the extent of government involvement in gender-sensitive sectors and programs-at any level of available funding. However, to be fully effective, obstacles such as gender-biased culture, the lack of appropriate budget classifications, and the lack of gender analysis expertise and gender-disaggregated data in most countries need to be addressed.

Systemic Weaknesses of Budget Management in Anglophone Africa

This paper examines the merits of the British budget management system that was inherited in Anglophone African countries and which has changed substantially in the United Kingdom since the 1960s. It considers whether the disappointing budgetary performance in Africa is due to weaknesses in the inherited British system, other external influences, or domestic developments. It finds that all three factors have played a role in the widespread problems with budget management systems. Reforms in institutional arrangements are needed, especially in budget execution. Technical reforms will be ineffective unless there are concomitant changes to enhance accountability, improve governance, and increase compliance.

Systemic Weaknesses of Budget Management in anglophone Africa

This paper examines the merits of the British budget management system that was inherited in Anglophone African countries and which has changed substantially in the United Kingdom since the 1960s. It considers whether the disappointing budgetary performance in Africa is due to weaknesses in the inherited British system, other external influences, or domestic developments. It finds that all three factors have played a role in the widespread problems with budget management systems. Reforms in institutional arrangements are needed, especially in budget execution. Technical reforms will be ineffective unless there are concomitant changes to enhance accountability, improve governance, and increase compliance.

農業用資金繰りシステムの開発

農業用資金繰りシステムの開発

Performance and Accountability: Budget Reform in New Zealand

Since 1984, New Zealand has made major changes in public sector management. This article describes the perceived problems with the previous New Zealand system and discusses the reforms designed to address these problems. The changes attempt to increase efficiency by: (1) separating commercial functions from other government operations; (2) strengthening lines of ministerial and executive accountability; and (3) designing budget and financial management systems to improve measurement of public sector performance. This last reform includes shifting from an input to an output‐based system, changing from cash to accrual accounting, and creating different forms of appropriations for different types of government activities. While it is too early to assess whether the reforms are successful, we note potential problems.

The OMB Budget Examiner and The Congressional Budget Process

This is the second of a two‐part retrospective on the evolving role of the OMB budget examiner. The examiner has become more active in negotiations with the legislative branch and tracking the legislative status of various fiscal measures. A new central budget management system was created to monitor appropriation bills. The OMB budget examiner has also been increasingly used to provide information for advocacy purposes before Congress and the public. The institutional effect on OMB of these changing roles is examined and suggestions for organizational reform are made.

Microcomputer Budget Management System

AbstractThe enterprise budget, whole farm cash flow, and income statement are fundamental tools of farm and ranch management. The “Microcomputer Budget Management System” (MBMS) is a microcomputer software package that facilitates the storage and use of information for crop and livestock budgeting. It performs the calculations for several1 enterprise budgeting formats and for preparation of whole farm resource use reports and financial statements. The MBMS also includes internal machinery and irrigation cost calculation routines.MBMS was developed for use by extension staff, researchers, lenders, consultants, and operators of diversified farms and ranches with many enterprises that use enterprise and whole farm budgeting for analysis and planning activities. The flexibility and detailed nature of the program requires the user to have knowledge of enterprise budgeting and operation of complex computer programs. This paper presents a discussion of the features and capabilities of the software and the computational procedures used in the cost calculations.