types of government expenditure control

Government Spending: Giveth Some, Taketh Some. Evaluating the strength of expenditure controls and addressing any weaknesses requires a clear understanding of the key features of an effective expenditure control system as well as the different approaches to putting them into practice. Show answer Answer A public sector spending on goods and services like education or healthcare. There is scope for disparate application of controls by line agencies, particularly when the control criteria are not well defined. Similarly, the procedure of using an imprest (dpenses par rgies davance), which does not follow all the control stages and should be used only for urgent minor expenditures, is sometimes used to speed up the expenditure process. The valuations also usefully inform the employer and employee contribution rates to make the pension scheme sustainable. 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. For example, in France, autorisation dengagement authorizes commitment for an investment operation that may entail payments over a multi-year period, while crdit de paiement limits the actual payments during the budget year subject to the overall limit under the respective autorisation dengagement (see Box 3). This approach comprised two main components: (i) a set of core financial and performance management competencies (called the hurdles) to be met by each line agency to qualify for delegation of financial management and control; and (ii) semi-contractual arrangements between the Bureau of the Budget and line agencies formally linking the reduction in central control to the achievement of the specified competencies. Advertisement. When the float of unpaid checks is significant, payments should also be reported on the basis of checks encashed/paid. The expenditure cycle and associated controls in Lusophone African countries34 are quite similar to the control framework in Francophone systems, but there are a few key differences. For a detailed discussion on TSA, see S. Pattanayak and I. Fainboim (2011). Final Government Spending Quiz Question What is government spending? Despite their different administrative origins, there has been some convergence between various expenditure control systems in recent years. For example, under an accrual-based budgeting system, the ministry of finance may: (i) delegate to spending agencies all decisions on their cash requirements and the timing of cash payments as long as the agencies conform to the expenses authorized on accrual basis; (ii) enforce a cash limit (either at an aggregated level or at a more detailed level) in addition to the amount of accrual-based expense authorized; and/or (iii) allow spending agencies to move cash appropriation into accrual-based expense but not vice versa.20, Commitment-based Expenditure Limits in France. 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. They maintain systems of internal control, and regularly report to the ministry of finance and other central agencies on their financial operations. These stages are: 1. However, these hurdles were set at such a high level that hardly any agency cleared them. The treasury department of the ministry of finance is responsible for maintaining central appropriation and fund accounts, forecasting government cash requirements and raising the necessary finance, supervising government/treasury bank accounts, and monitoring cash balances in these accounts. In both centralized and decentralized systems, there should be regular bank reconciliation of transactions27 and reporting of expenditure against authorized allocations by spending agencies. Controls on liabilities or guarantees (contrle de liquidation): This control is applied on the incurrence of a liability or guarantee and again at the payment stage when the liability is extinguished or guarantee is paid. Once the specific problems and weaknesses in expenditure control have been identified, the government needs to develop tools and measures to address them. What are the main areas of expenditure for local government? Commitment. Where centralized payment and/or payroll systems exist, they may also be responsible for authorizing payment orders and/or making payments. A distinction can be made between the treatment of high value and risk-prone transactions vis--vis low value transactions. Originally designed for exceptional circumstances, the use of this procedure expanded in several Francophone African countries to settle most of the expenditures. In most cases, researchers assume that control of corruption, rule of law, accountability, and government expenditure tend to have a positive impact on government effectiveness. Finance ministry monitors budget execution by line ministries/agencies. Once a payment order has been issued, payments are made through various instruments including checks, electronic fund transfer (EFT), and sometimes cash, in favor of a supplier or other recipient to discharge the liability. This model assigns both the authority to spend and the responsibility to ensure the regularity of each transaction to the same agency. In national finance, the period covered by a budget is usually a year, known as a financial or fiscal year, which may or may not correspond with the calendar year. It is not a good practice to net payments against revenue due from the same recipient, as it hinders the transparent reporting of government revenues and expenditures as they pass through the various stages.15. PFM Traditions Influencing the Expenditure Control Framework, Tradition in the former Soviet Union countries, V. Identifying Weaknesses in the Expenditure Control Systems, Weaknesses of different expenditure control systems, Diagnosing weaknesses in a particular country, Specific measures to address expenditure control weaknesses, Monitoring reform progress and managing the change, http://www.issai.org/media/13329/intosai_gov_9100_e.pdf, Prevention and Management of Government Arrears, Conceptual Design: A Critical Element of a Successful Government Financial Management Information System Project, Implementing Accrual Accounting in the Public Sector, Unorthodox Expenditure Procedures in CEMAC and WAEMU Countries, Liberia: Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Assessment, Republic of Mozambique: Technical Assistance Report on Regaining Control Over Budget Execution, 19 A Comparison Between Two Public Expenditure Management Systems in Africa, North Macedonia: Technical Assistance Report - Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Performance Assessment, Republic of Mozambique: Strategy for Restoring the Expenditure Chain and Improving Financial Programming, Mauritius: Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Assessment, Niger: Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Assessment, Public Financial Management Systems - Indonesia: Key Elements from a Financial Management Perspective, Governance Brief No. 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. Accrual-based budgeting systems enforce limits on the incurrence of liabilities, expenses or expenditure even when no immediate cash transactions are involved. In some countries, ministries of finance regard expenditure as having taken place when funds are transferred from the ministry of finance or treasury bank accounts to the line ministries (or first-tier spending units). 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, (, ). The lack of effective communication between treasury, which uses a cash-based budget execution system, and line agencies, which maintain their own accounting records (normally on accrual basis), leads to problems in reconciling expenditure data. While providing examples of expenditure control practices from more than 32 countries, the paper points out that more than two-thirds of the 85 low and middle income countries covered by the publicly available Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessments have weak systems of expenditure control that are also associated with higher levels of expenditure arrears and a lack of budget credibility. Therefore, entering into a commitment or incurring a liability in excess of the limit would not, in the absence of other controls, constitute a breach of law. Broader PFM and enforcement issues affecting budget execution and expenditure control. Excessive number of redundant controls leads to payment delays,37 arrears, and proliferation of exceptional procedures that bypass the normal expenditure control framework. Types of Fiscal Policy The government has control over both taxes and government spending. PEFA PI-22; and average time lag between delivery and verification. There is regular reporting and monitoring of overdue liabilities. A comprehensive commitment control system is in place that captures not only one-off (purchase order type) but also multi-year (e.g., projects contacts) commitments. _paq.push(['setTrackerUrl', u+'matomo.php']); Budget modifications during the year are done according to legally prescribed processes (e.g., virements, contingency reserves, and supplementary/revised budgets), transparently, and in a way that promotes governments chosen objectives. would still require manual intervention. Minimizes the cost of financing government programs by smoothing the gap between cash inflows and outflows. The link was not copied. Thailand introduced a hurdle approach in the late 1990s to devolve budget execution control, moving this function from the finance ministrys Bureau of the Budget to line agencies. Payment orders are issued after documentary proof of verification. Allen, R., and D. Radev, 2009, Extrabudgetary Funds, Technical Notes and Manuals (Washington: International Monetary Fund). 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. Next. Excessive time lag between reservation and commitment resulting in unnecessary encumbrance on available funds. Three of the seven stages (commitment, verification, and payment) involve a third party (a creditor, supplier, beneficiary, etc.) The purpose of apportionment is to prevent spending agencies from incurring obligations at a rate which would require the authorization of additional funds for the fiscal year in progress.8 Once expenditure authorization is in place, it is apportioned for specific periods and/or specific spending units. A key question is whether reforms should focus on strengthening the traditional system or leapfrogging to the modern devolved approach. The main heads of Central Government's revenue expenditure are: (i) Defence Services, (ii) Development Services, ADVERTISEMENTS: (iii) Administrative Services, (iv) Debt Services, and (v) Assistance to States. Therefore, there would be no under-execution of the budget under these circumstances. A Government Deficit is the amount of money in the set budget by which the government expenditure exceeds the government income amount. The author is also grateful to K. Douglass for her assistance with data analysis. Lack of adequate control over government expenditure remains a problem in many countries. 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 system is unlike that in France where each line minister has always been an Ordonnateur Principal. Once checks are made to ensure that all previously stipulated controls have been performed and documented, a payment order is issued. Finance ministry does not carry out any form of detailed commitment or payment control. Following confirmation that sufficient liquidity is available, a designated official approves the payment and issues a payment order. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. For a further discussion on expenditure arrears, see S. Flynn and M. Pessoa (2014). Non-contractual commitments (subsidies, transfers, etc.) They are at least issued on a quarterly basis or, preferably, for the full year divided into quarterly tranches. Certain sums may be spent under permanent rather than annual legislation. Commitment-based budgeting systems impose limits on both expenditure commitments and cash payments. 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. 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