Reforming state budgeting in the vortex of policy conditionality, political instability and technical support flux

Purpose Greece had to undertake several reforms under intense policy conditionality pressures – stemming from the three financial support programs agreed between the Greek Government and the Troika – and political instability. Within this context, this study aims to analyze the role of politicians and technical assistance staff in the administrative reform of the Greek state budget. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts the approach of an extreme country-case study which is analyzed through a theoretical framework with insights from the resource dependency theory and the concept of policy conditionality. The theoretical framework is supported by documents of the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission, including the technical Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and their progress reports and is informed by the outcome of interviews with General Accounting Office executives. Findings While the budget reform eventually met the MoU requirements, the frequent changes at the government level, the constant renegotiations with the Troika that initiated changes to the plan and the instability of the technical assistance teams formed to support the reform contributed to important implementation delays. Originality/value The study contributes to the research agenda on accounting reforms during periods of financial crises by providing evidence on the role of politicians’ level of ownership and technical assistance staff contribution.

State budget management in the Russian Federation

Subject. This article explores the theoretical foundations of the present State budget management structure in Russia. Objectives. The article aims to justify the need to reform the structure of the State budget management in the Russian Federation in order to increase susceptibility and adaptability to new goals and objectives, as well as to new methods of public financial management. Methods. For the study, I used the methods of analysis and synthesis, generalization, abstraction, induction, and modeling. Results. Using budgeting tools, I show that the development of the State budget management structure in the Russian Federation was stopped after the second phase of budget reform. This led to the formation of a cumulative system for managing the State financial resources, which effectively excluded any influence of the public treasurers on the financial activities of inferior treasurers and recipients of budget funds. Such a structure does not provide an opportunity to assess and monitor the effectiveness of budget funds use by subordinate organizations. It also fails to create an effective system for managing budgetary risks, especially the risks of deviant activities of government employees. Conclusions. The article concludes that within the framework of the current stage of budget reform in the Russian Federation, based on the methodology of budgeting and domestic practices of public financial management, it is necessary to continue developing an effective structure of State budget management. Otherwise, the implementation of large-scale national projects and budget reform itself is under threat of failure.

The Implementation of Budget Reform and the Level of Compliance among the Public Sector Entities in Nigeria

The study investigated the implementation of budget reform and the level of compliance in Nigeria. Purposive Sampling Technique was employed to select the two sectors – Ministry of Education and Health – where the adoption and implementation of the budget reform were popular. The population of the study comprised fifty (50) MDAs of the two ministries. Primary data were sourced from five hundred (500) respondents through structured questionnaire administered to the selected Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Data were analyzed using the Factor analysis technique. The results showed that only 55% of the MDAs within the sample size exhibited high compliance level with the budget reform while 45% demonstrated low compliance with the budget reform mandate. The summary of the overall results, therefore, revealed that there was no full compliance with the budget reforms’ directives among the MDAs during the research period. The study concludes that only continuous and critical re-assessments of the budget reform and its periodic re-appraisals by the central authorities in Nigeria can guarantee full compliance and thorough implementation in order to achieve desired results of the reforms in the public sector entities in Nigeria. The study, therefore, recommends that a central monitoring unit be created jointly by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the federation to ensure strict compliance, which will in turn enhance transparency and accountability in the public sector entities in Nigeria.

Conclusion

Major budget reform in Mississippi has occurred only twice in the last four decades, with the most significant reform occurring in the mid-1980s. No reform shaped Mississippi’s budget-making process more than the Mississippi Administrative Reorganization Act of 1984 (S.B. 3050, passed during the 1984 legislative session), which was passed not voluntarily by the legislature but as a result of a court order. The drastic budget reform would have not occurred if it had not been for then–Attorney General Bill Allain’s challenge to the structural makeup of the committee responsible for the budget-making process at the time, the Commission of Budget and Accounting. The state supreme court’s decision in ...

The Legislature’s Intervention with Budget Reform

Chapter 5 discusses the legislature’s response to the budget problems that occurred at the end of the Mabus administration. The legislature grew frustrated with the unrealistic revenue forecasting used to construct the state’s budget and responded by passing the Budget Reform Act of 1992 in order to strengthen the budget process. The reform act created a proper reserve fund known as the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund (Rainy Day Fund). The act also created a revenue 2 percent set-aside requirement as a cushion.

Chaos and Compromise

This book explains how Mississippi’s budget making process evolved and examines legislation and litigation, as well as those legislators and governors responsible for developing this process. This book explains in detail the significant actions taken by the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government that affected Mississippi’s procedures. Significant legislation covered includes the passage of Senate Bill 356, which gave the governor the authority to prepare and submit a budget recommendation in 1918; the passage of the Administrative Reorganization Act of 1984; the passage of the Budget Reform Act of 1992; and the passage of the Financial and Operational Responses That Invigorate Future Years Act (FORTIFY) during the First Extraordinary Session of 2017. The first two chapters provide a historical perspective and give the reader an understanding of how legislation and litigation contributed. The book also covers interventions by the courts, which led to the unprecedented separation of powers case Alexander v. State of Mississippi by and Through Allain (1983). In addition to discussing important laws and legislators, Pugh takes a detailed look at six of Mississippi’s recent governors—Bill Allain, Ray Mabus, Kirk Fordice, Ronnie Musgrove, Haley Barbour, and Phil Bryant—to examine their methods for getting the legislature to include their ideas in the often anguished process of making a budget.