Countries:

OECD Members Non-OECD respondents All Countries Western Continental Europe (OECD-non Nordic) Central and Eastern Europe (OECD) Central and Eastern Europe (ALL) Latin America (ALL) Nordic countries Westminster systems Parliamentary regimes (OECD) Parliamentary regimes (ALL) Presidential regimes (OECD) Presidential regimes (ALL) Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Chile Costa Rica Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Japan Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Norway Peru Poland Portugal Slovak Republic Slovenia Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom United States Venezuela

Questions:

Part 1: General information Part 2: Budget formulation Part 3: Passing the budget Part 4: Budget execution Part 5: Accounting and Audit Part 6: Performance information Q.1 Where is the function of the Central Budget Authority located? Q.2 Who is the head of the Central Budget Authority? Q.3 What is the total number of staff working in the Central Budget Authority? Q.4 Legal Framework Q.5 Which of the following actors formulate the economic assumptions used in the budget? Q.6 Which of the following organisations carry out independent reviews of the economic assumptions used in the budget? Q.7 Is the methodology used for establishing the economic assumptions of the budget publicly available? Q.8 Is fiscal sensitivity analysis of the economic assumptions included in the budget documentation? Q.9 How often are fiscal estimates (spending and revenues) revised in the course of a fiscal year? Q.10 To what extent are fiscal risks associated with entitlements evaluated in the budget documentation? Q.11 In the annual budget documentation presented to the Legislature are expenditures under current commitments in law and policy distinguished from new po Q.12 How often do you prepare long-term fiscal projections? Q.13 What kinds of long-term fiscal analysis are used? Q.14 In developing the budget, are there any fiscal rules that place limits on fiscal policy? Q.15 Expenditure Rule Q.16 Does the annual budget documentation submitted to the Legislature contain multi-year expenditure estimates? Q.17 How many years does the multi-year expenditure estimates cover (including the upcoming budget)? Q.18 How often are the multi-year estimates updated? Q.19 If applicable, from what basis do you extrapolate multi-year expenditure estimates? Q.20 Are there multi-year expenditure targets or ceilings? Q.21 How many years do the targets/ceilings cover (including the upcoming budget)? Q.22 How often are the targets/ceilings revised? Q.23 Does the Central Budget Authority impose limits (ceilings) for each ministry’s initial spending request? Q.24 What type of information is contained in the annual budget circular/memorandum issued by the Central Budget Authority to guide the preparations of bud Q.25 In practice what is the timeframe for the budget drafting process? Please indicate how many months before the beginning of the fiscal year each o Q.26 In practice how are disputes between line ministries and the Central Budget Authority in the budget preparation process generally resolved i.e. issues Q.27 Is your Central Government budget split into a separate capital and operating budget? Q.28 How does the Legislature fund capital projects that require funding over a number of years? Q.29 In practice, which option most accurately describes the way in which the budget for the Judiciary is prepared? Q.30 In practice which option most accurately describes the way in which the budget for the Supreme Audit Institution is prepared? Q.31 In practice, which option most accurately describes the way in which the budget for the Legislature is prepared? Q.32 If there is more than one chamber in the Legislature, how would you describe their relative powers over the budget? Q.33 Thinking about the following types of committee structures for dealing with the budget, please indicate which arrangement applies to each chamber Q.34 Is there a specialised budget research office/unit attached to the Legislature to conduct analyses of the budget? Q.35 In the presentation of Central Government budget documents to the Legislature, which of the following elements are included? Q.36 Does the Legislature formally debate/discuss overall budget policy? Q.37 Does the Legislature first vote on the total amount of expenditure before it votes on specific appropriations? Q.38 How many line item appropriations are contained in the budget? Q.39 In practice what is the timeframe for the following stages of the budget approval? Q.40 What are the formal powers of the Legislature to amend the budget proposed by the Executive? Q.41 What has been the total size of changes made by the Legislature as a percentage of the budget presented by the Executive? Q.42 Notwithstanding the formal powers of the Legislature to modify the budget, is a vote on the budget considered a vote of confidence in the Government? Q.43 If the budget is not approved by the Legislature before the start of the fiscal year which of the following describes the consequences? Q.44 Does the Executive have the power to veto the budget approved by the Legislature? Q.45 What types of off-budget expenditure exist? Q.46 Approximately how large is off-budget expenditure in relation to total expenditure in the Central Government budget? Q.47 If applicable, what is defined as a public contingent liability? Q.48 Are Government’s contingent liabilities noted in the budget documentation (or in other documents) presented to the Legislature? Q.49 Do your agencies/executive organisations receive lump sum appropriations? Q.50 Is any charge imposed on agencies/executive organisations for using capital assets? Q.51 Does the Government have the authority to increase spending once the budget has been approved by the Legislature? For each type of change please Q.52 Does the Government have the authority to cut/cancel/rescind spending once the budget has been approved by the Legislature? Q.53 Are ministers allowed to reallocate/vire funds between line items within their responsibility? Q.54 Can ministers carry-over unused funds or appropriations from one year to another? Q.55 Is it possible for ministries/Government organisations to borrow against future appropriations? Q.56 How frequently do you publish information on actual revenues and expenditures during the fiscal year? Q.57 Can overspending occur before a supplementary appropriation law/budget is approved by the Legislature? Q.58 How many supplementary budgets have been submitted annually in the past two years? Q.59 What have been the major factors requiring supplementary budgets? Q.60 In the last fiscal year, what was the total size of supplementary budgets as a percentage of total planned expenditure in the original budget? Q.61 Did the budget for the last fiscal year include any central reserve funds to meet unforeseen expenditures? Q.62 On what reporting basis are the following presented to the Legislature? Q.63 How are the technical standards for the budget and related documents and the technical accounting standards for financial statements determined? Q.64 Is there a system to charge a price for goods and services provided by one Government organisation to another? Q.65 In general, are Government organisation managers able to keep any savings from efficiency gains that they have realized in order to finance other expe Q.66 Do any line ministries have internal audit units? Q.67 Approximately what percentage of central Government spending is annually subject to performance or value-for-money audits Supreme Audit Instituti Q.68 According to the relevant legal provisions, to whom does the Supreme Audit Institution principally report? Q.69 Are the findings of the Supreme Audit Institution available to the public? Q.70 When are the accounts audited by the Supreme Audit Institution publicly available? Q.71 What types of performance information are produced to assess the Government's non-financial performance? Q.72 What types of evaluations are commissioned and/or conducted by the following institutions? Q.73 What types of non-financial performance measures have been developed for Central Government? Q.74 In which year was the first Government-wide initiative to introduce performance measures (outputs and/or outcomes)? Q.75 Approximately how many performance targets are there in the budget? Q.76 Are expenditures linked to performance goals or objectives? Q.77 Who has responsibility for setting performance targets? Q.78 Who is responsible for achieving performance targets? Q.79 If performance targets cut across organisational boundaries who is responsible for achieving them? Q.80 If ministries/Government organisations are required to report on performance against targets, to which bodies are they required to report? Q.81 Is performance against targets routinely presented to the Legislature? Q.82 Is performance against targets made available to the public? Q.83 Is performance information used as part of the budget discussions/negotiations between the Central Budget Authority and line/spending ministries? Q.84 How is performance information generally used by the following two actors? Q.85 If performance targets are not met, how likely is it that any of the following consequences are triggered? Q.86 If evaluations indicate poor performance how likely is it that any of the following consequences are triggered?" Q.87 How often do the following actors use performance information in budgetary decision-making? Q.88 When performance against targets is used by the Central Budget Authority in the budget formulation process how is it used and how often?" Q.89 When the results of evaluations are used by the Central Budget Authority in the budget formulation process

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Budget Practices and Procedures Survey

			Number	Percentage (of the whole sample)
Q.1
	Where is the function of the Central Budget Authority located?
		Ministry of Finance	25	83.3%
		Office of the Chief Executive	1	3.3%
		President’s office
		Prime Minister’s office
		Independent Agency
		The Central Budget Authority is split between two or more agencies	2	6.7%
		Other	2	6.7%
		Missing answer
Q.2
	Who is the head of the Central Budget Authority - i.e. the highest official whose primary responsibility is the budget?
		Political appointee - i.e. s/he generally leaves with a change of Government	12	40.0%
		A senior civil servant - i.e. s/he does not generally leave with a change of Government	17	56.7%
		Other	1	3.3%
		Missing answer
Q.3
	What is the total number of staff working in the Central Budget Authority?
		Number of staff working
Q.4 Legal Framework - What is the legal basis for the following?
	4.a The form and structure of the annual budget and related legislation
		Constitution	13	43.3%
		Legislation	24	80.0%
		Internal rules	11	36.7%
		No formal basis	2	6.7%
		Missing answer
	4.b The timing of the annual budget process
		Constitution	10	33.3%
		Legislation	20	66.7%
		Internal rules	15	50.0%
		No formal basis	1	3.3%
		Missing answer
	4.c Roles and responsibilities of different parts of the Executive in budget formulation and execution
		Constitution	8	26.7%
		Legislation	23	76.7%
		Internal rules	17	56.7%
		No formal basis	1	3.3%
		Missing answer
	4.d Roles and responsibilities of the Legislature and the Executive in the budget process
		Constitution	16	53.3%
		Legislation	24	80.0%
		Internal rules	10	33.3%
		No formal basis	1	3.3%
		Missing answer	1	3.3%
	4.e Provisions on what happens when the budget is not approved by the beginning of the fiscal year
		Constitution	11	36.7%
		Legislation	17	56.7%
		Internal rules	3	10.0%
		No formal basis	6	20.0%
		Missing answer
	4.f Requirement for legislative authorization of spending
		Constitution	20	66.7%
		Legislation	23	76.7%
		Internal rules	2	6.7%
		No formal basis
		Missing answer
	4.g Requirement for legislative authorization of taxes
		Constitution	21	70.0%
		Legislation	21	70.0%
		Internal rules
		No formal basis
		Missing answer
	4.h Rules for the use of contingency or reserve funds
		Constitution	6	20.0%
		Legislation	20	66.7%
		Internal rules	12	40.0%
		No formal basis	1	3.3%
		Missing answer	2	6.7%
	4.i Requirement for audit of Government accounts by the Supreme Audit Institution
		Constitution	16	53.3%
		Legislation	25	83.3%
		Internal rules	2	6.7%
		No formal basis
		Missing answer
	4.j Requirements for internal audit structures in line ministries
		Constitution
		Legislation	24	80.0%
		Internal rules	13	43.3%
		No formal basis	2	6.7%
		Missing answer
	4.k Management and reporting relating to off-budget expenditures
		Constitution	3	10.0%
		Legislation	24	80.0%
		Internal rules	9	30.0%
		No formal basis	1	3.3%
		Missing answer	1	3.3%