types of government expenditure control

Expenditure committed but respective reservation/ encumbrance not annulled. It may also have a role in appropriation and commitment controls through its representatives posted in spending agencies (as in Francophone systems). The authority for expenditure is This control can also apply to the wages/personnel expenditure in the sense that a designated official (e.g., the head of the division/department) certifies that the respective staff have performed their duty during the time period for which wages are to be paid. The nature of those expenditure limits depends on the accounting basis (cash, commitment, or accrual) used in the budget (see Section III). In some countries, it may conduct its own pre-payment audits prior to executing payments. In the second phase, the focus should be on progressive devolution of controls to spending agencies in parallel with a reinforcement of procedures for auditing and reporting. In particular, the new law: (i) divests the financial controllers of the responsibility for regularity control (contrle de rgularit) of budget managers (administrateurs de credit), which was transferred/decentralized to the line ministries; (ii) requires the financial controllers to assess the fiscal sustainability of decisions taken by budget managers to reinforce macro-fiscal discipline; and (iii) also requires the controllers of central agencies, such as the General Inspectorate of Finances (Inspection gnrale des finances), to apply a risk-based approach to control. This devolution/decentralization of financial and expenditure control should be gradual and based on predefined competency criteria for line ministries/agencies who should demonstrate that they can operate with higher levels of delegated authority. Insufficient allocation for expenditure authorized through standing/permanent legislations. Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Somali Regional State Government), Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment: Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region), Timor-Leste Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Assessment 2018: Public Financial Management Performance Report, https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513574639.005. Fiscal measures are frequently used in tandem with monetary policy to achieve certain goals. In countries of the British Commonwealth tradition, officials in spending agencies are charged with initiating and authorizing expenditure transactions, from commitment to payment, based on apportionments/allotments/warrants issued by the ministry of finance. Role of Central and Line Agencies in Various Traditions and Lessons Learned. Key strengths: separation of responsibility for key control tasks; tracking key stages of expenditure cycle; and centralized repository of expenditure data; Key challenges: frequent and redundant controls make the expenditure process slow (and encourage proliferation of special procedures); interference by central agencies may undermine responsibilities of line managers; and possible manipulation of the complementary period. Allen, R., and D. Radev, 2009, Extrabudgetary Funds, Technical Notes and Manuals (Washington: International Monetary Fund). Bank-Qualified Municipal Bonds Marketplace Fairness and RTPA State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) PolicyStatements Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting Budgeting and Financial Management Intergovernmental Relations and Federal Fiscal Policy Public Employee Pension and Benefits Administration Monetary policy. The word budget is derived from the Old French bougette ("little bag"). It is a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government in a financial year (which begins on 01 April of the current year and ends on 31 March of the following year). Government Spending: Giveth Some, Taketh Some. An appropriation is defined as a sub-division of a government budget established for accountability purposes, which shows the amounts legally authorized to be spent for specific purposes in a specific time period. Browne, E., 2010, Reforming Budget Systems A Practical Guide, United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In any case, understanding the seven key stages of the expenditure cycle and associated control systems is also important to effectively design and implement an FMIS. FSU countries. Once checks are made to ensure that all previously stipulated controls have been performed and documented, a payment order is issued. The distribution of responsibilities between them is typically organized along the following lines: The budget department of the ministry of finance issues regulations on matters related to the execution of the budget, apportions appropriated funds to spending agencies, monitors their expenditures and performance, authorizes in-year budget revisions, and monitors and reports on budget execution. Finally, it discusses typical weaknesses/problems associated with different traditions of expenditure control and suggests specific measures for strengthening the control framework. As a result, progress stalled and the reform was not pursued further. Originally designed for exceptional circumstances, the use of this procedure expanded in several Francophone African countries to settle most of the expenditures. As these countries transitioned to market-based economies, they established centralized treasury departments under the finance ministry to process payments and exercise control at the payment stage. The annual budget authority is regulated by the ministry of finance which releases warrants (notifications de crdit) specifying a commitment ceiling for each month or quarter. 7. For multiannual programs/projects, the approved budget includes both the multiannual commitment limits (autorisations dengagement or AE) against which it also sets annual limits (crdits de paiement or CP) for cash payments during the year. Cash plans in these countries are used as tools for rationing expenditure authority but themselves tend to be unrealistically optimistic, as they do not reflect expected cash outflows based on commitments. What are the main areas of expenditure for local government? Apportionment, reservation, commitment and payment order stages and virements during budget execution. Payment and verification (in case of accrual accounting) stages. For example, the commitment stage of the expenditure cycle has received a lot of attention of late, but addressing issues just at the commitment stage may not result in a robust expenditure control framework (and prevention of expenditure arrears) as evidenced in several countries. These expenditure limits may not be strict limits for all types of expenditure. If a future valuation shows that the costs of a scheme have risen or have fallen, action needs to be taken (via adjustments to member benefits or member contributions) to return costs to the level of the cap. To help PFM practitioners evaluate a countrys budget execution system and identify priorities for strengthening expenditure controls, this TNM: explains the key stages of the government expenditure chain (Section II); describes the (i) types of controls applied at each stage of the chain, their objectives, and key features; (ii) nature of expenditure limits in cash-based, commitment-based and accrual-based budgeting environments; (iii) centralized vs. decentralized approach to the exercise of those controls; and (iv) authority and responsibility of various institutional actors throughout the expenditure cycle (Section III); examines the influence of different administrative traditions on types of expenditure controls exercised and the allocation of responsibility for their application (Section IV); identifies the typical weaknesses and problems associated with different expenditure control traditions (Section V); and. There has been a proliferation of special procedures in a number of countries (particularly in Africa) that are designed for the benefit of powerful vested interests (who want a faster spending process for specific transactions, closer tracking of certain resources, and/or the accommodation of special institutional interests/arrangements). These regulations, among other things, prescribe the establishment of responsibility for financial decisions, the segregation of duties to ensure appropriate checks and balances, and documentation procedures for maintaining a defined audit trail. But these funds may take some time to be further transferred to subsidiary spending units under the line ministries and then be spent on the salaries or goods and services that constitute final expenditure. _paq.push(['setSiteId', '17']); Following the approval of the budget/appropriation bill, spending agencies are usually asked to submit a proposed plan for apportionment/allotment. Same as Francophone, but the official approving commitments and payments is usually the same (unlike separation of responsibility in Francophone countries). Reforming Budget Systems A Practical Guide, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Prevention and Management of Government Expenditure Arrears, Review of Financial Management in Government, (, ). A distinction can be made between the treatment of high value and risk-prone transactions vis--vis low value transactions. _paq.push(["setDoNotTrack", true]); (function() { discusses specific measures for strengthening expenditure controls and addressing weaknesses in countries at different levels of administrative capacity (Section VI). It seeks to verify: (i) the existence of budget cover or space within the authorized limits; and (ii) that the payment is being made to extinguish the liability to a real creditor and for a claim that was not paid earlier. Controls at the commitment, verification and payment order stages remained the responsibility of the line ministries/agencies, with variations, however, in the effectiveness with which such controls are exercised. Evidence since the second world war, says Chen of HKU, shows that "the higher the government's control of a country's economy, the lower the role for private consumption in its economic . an emphasis on transparency and accountability to the legislature and the public for expenditure overruns. Administrative unit accountable for expenditure. Budget cover (against the relevant appropriation) is checked after deducting all expenditures previously approved. Shorter check validity period to minimize check float; monitoring of check floats and delay in electronic transfers. Reports from the central bank, based on bank payments data classified by bank code (a compressed form of the budget/accounts classification) provided the only basis for in-year control of budget implementation. Warrants/allotments are not used as a cash rationing tool. Moussa, Y., 2004, Public Expenditure Management in Francophone Africa: A Cross-Country Analysis, Working Paper WP/04/42, (Washington: International Monetary Fund). By managing its portfolio of debt, it can affect interest rates, and by deciding on the amount of new money injected into the economy . In the other countries, the central banks usually handle both debt management and TSA administration on an agency basis. Authorized purpose of the expenditure. fiscal policy, measures employed by governments to stabilize the economy, specifically by manipulating the levels and allocations of taxes and government expenditures. This is what constitutes the hierarchical and risk-based control (control modul de la dpense) that Morocco has started to implement since 2008 (based on Decree n 207-1235 of November 4, 2008). In such cases, agencies execute their accrual budgets by incurring expenses and liabilitieseven if they had not been settled in cash during the fiscal yearwhich are reflected in their budget execution reports or financial accounts.21 Therefore, the control of accrual appropriations relies primarily upon the monitoring of spending agencies accounts, whereas ex ante control over cash transactions is the primary instrument under cash budgeting. Mainly commitment, verification, payment order and payment stages, but also at other stages. On the sectoral side, growth in public administration, defence and other services decelerated to a two-year low of 2.0 percent YoY in Q3 versus 5.6 . The key reforms include clarifying responsibilities for verification of delivery of goods and/or services, ensuring documentary proof of delivery, and eliminating any undue delay between verification and issuance of payment orders. describes the (i) types of controls applied at each stage of the chain, their objectives, and key features; (ii) nature of expenditure limits in cash-based, commitment-based and accrual-based budgeting environments; (iii) centralized vs. decentralized approach to the exercise of those controls; and (iv) authority and responsibility of various Some countries PFM systems explicitly recognize all or most of the above stages and track them through a budgetary accounting system, while others formally track only a few of them.16 For example, the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries track all seven stages and the Francophone countries track at least six stages (the reservation stage or engagement budgtaire is also sometimes tracked). Types of Fiscal Policy The government has control over both taxes and government spending. Pattanayak, S., and J. Cooper, 2011, Chart of Accounts: A Critical Element of the Public Financial Management Framework, Technical Notes and Manuals (Washington: International Monetary Fund). The main reform at this stage is the introduction of a comprehensive commitment control system, including for multi-year commitments and standing commitments (e.g., salaries, utilities, subsidies, transfers, etc.). PEFA PI-22; and average time lag between delivery and verification. This authority to spend is released to the spending units through the issue of warrants/allotments/dcret de rpartition, or other mechanisms.9 Some form of centralized control during this phase of the expenditure cycle is common in almost all countries and is usually enforced by the budget department of the ministry of finance. This technical note and manual (TNM) addresses the following issues: Key stages of the government expenditure chain; The roles and responsibilities of the key institutional actors in exercising those controls; Approaches to expenditure control in different PFM traditions; Diagnosing weaknesses in expenditure control systems; and. This used to be the case in all but three countries (Cameroon, Mali and Burkina Faso) of the 12 countries that comprise Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa. Transactions undertaken using exceptional procedures often end up being registered in suspense accounts that are rarely cleared due to lack of budget cover and are neither properly tracked nor reported. Therefore, unlike the old French system, the key principles here are integration and delegation. Time horizon of apportionment too short for expenditure planning and execution by line agencies. HM Treasury, 2013, Review of Financial Management in Government, (www.gov.uk). The scope for establishing such advanced systems, however, remains challenging in many developing countries. The process of issuing checks should be managed to monitor and minimize check float14 and ensure that sufficient cash is available when they are presented for encashment. These valuations measure the full costs of paying pension benefits. Most budget execution control operations are delegated to the line ministries. Key challenges: large variations in effectiveness of controls; and reconciling accrual-based data at line agencies with cash-based data at the treasury. The main objective of the government as a purchaser is to obtain high-quality goods and services at a competitive price. Flynn, S., and M. Pessoa, 2014, Prevention and Management of Government Expenditure Arrears, Technical Notes and Manuals, (Washington: International Monetary Fund). Allowing ministries and agencies to commit and use their resources whenever they want complicates cash management.40. Types of Control, Their Key Features and Objectives. Weaknesses at one stage of the expenditure control cycle can undermine the integrity and credibility of the system as a whole. _paq.push(['enableLinkTracking']); Options for strengthening the expenditure control framework. A lack of effective expenditure controls not only threatens macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline, but can also call into question the integrity of the public financial management system and undermine trust in a governments stewardship of public resources. In both centralized and decentralized systems, there should be regular bank reconciliation of transactions27 and reporting of expenditure against authorized allocations by spending agencies. When the government uses fiscal policy to increase the amount of money available to the populace, this is called expansionary fiscal policy. Non-contractual commitments (subsidies, transfers, etc.) The key difference is in the degree of centralization between countries that follow the British Commonwealth, German-Austrian, and Scandinavian traditions of PFM and those that follow the Napoleonic traditions of PFM (France, Portugal, and Spain). Both the central agency/finance ministry and line agencies are involved in various tasks during the expenditure cycle. Commitment limits may be multi-year in nature (usually for capital projects) and carried over from one financial year to the next, while cash expenditure limits are usually set for the budget year. Apportionment of authorization for specific periods and spending units. The line agencies have responsibility for executing their budget and managing the funds/ resources assigned to them. Issuance of payment orders is integrated with a well established cash plan that is updated regularly with inputs from spending and revenue agencies. In the US, public spending as a share of GDP was 10.5% in 1941, then went up to 44.1% in 1945, and then went back down to 12.2% in 1948. If a liability has been incurred by the end of the fiscal year, this would be enough to report the expense or expenditure against the accrual appropriation. Control of procurement: Significant public spending takes place through the public procurement system. This is known as retenciones de crdito in Spain (and a similar arrangement in Portugal) and engagement budgtaire in France which precedes the engagement juridique or legal commitment stage. Checks and/or electronic transfer instructions bounce due to lack of cash. As such, the focus of expenditure control at the commitment phase of budget execution has moved from an annual to a multiannual basis, i.e., the total cost of a legal commitment into which the government is entering into is fully recorded against the available multiannual commitment authorizations/AEs. 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