Scrutinizing Public Expenditures

Scrutinizing Public Expenditures PDF Author: Rick Stapenhurst
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
In 2002, David McGee wrote a comprehensive report on two important elements in the system of public financial accountability, namely the office of the Auditor General and the parliamentary oversight committee commonly referred to as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The purpose of the present paper is to deepen McGee's analysis of PACs. In particular, the authors define PAC success and identify those factors that affect PAC peformance. They use data that were collected by the World Bank Institute in 2002, when a survey questionnaire was sent to 51 national and state/provincial parliaments in Commonwealth countries in Asia and Australasia, and Canada and the United Kingdom. The authors find that the institutional factors which most account for the success of the PACs are the focus on government's financial activity rather than its policies, the power to investigate all past and present government expenses, the power to follow up on government action in response to its recommendations, and its relationship with the Auditors General.

Scrutinizing Public Expenditures

Scrutinizing Public Expenditures PDF Author: Rick Stapenhurst
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book

Book Description
In 2002, David McGee wrote a comprehensive report on two important elements in the system of public financial accountability, namely the office of the Auditor General and the parliamentary oversight committee commonly referred to as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The purpose of the present paper is to deepen McGee's analysis of PACs. In particular, the authors define PAC success and identify those factors that affect PAC peformance. They use data that were collected by the World Bank Institute in 2002, when a survey questionnaire was sent to 51 national and state/provincial parliaments in Commonwealth countries in Asia and Australasia, and Canada and the United Kingdom. The authors find that the institutional factors which most account for the success of the PACs are the focus on government's financial activity rather than its policies, the power to investigate all past and present government expenses, the power to follow up on government action in response to its recommendations, and its relationship with the Auditors General.

Scrutinizing Public Expenditures

Scrutinizing Public Expenditures PDF Author:
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Finance, Public
Languages : en
Pages : 39

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Book Description
The purpose of this paper is to deepen David McGee's analysis of Public Accounts Committees (PACs) and to define PAC success and identify those factors that impact on PAC performance.

Legislative Oversight and Budgeting

Legislative Oversight and Budgeting PDF Author: Rick Stapenhurst
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821376128
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
In most countries, parliament has the constitutional mandate to both oversee and hold government to account. In light of the increased focus on good governance, academics and legislative strengthening practitioners are re-examining parliament's oversight function with a view to increasing public financial accountability, curbing corruption, and contributing to poverty reduction. This volume brings together research from many different perspectives and many different legislative settings worldwide. As the country case studies in section III demonstrate, the accountability mechanisms or oversight tools available to the legislature vary based on constitutionally defined powers of the legislature, institutional arrangements between the branches of government, divisions of authority between national, regional, and local governments, the degree of legitimacy conferred on the legislature, and the resources available to it. The budget process provides critical opportunities. Section II of this volume is devoted to examining budget oversight from the formulation and approval of the budget, to implementation and the ex post examination of the public accounts. Special attention is also paid to mechanisms to assist parliaments such as Public Accounts Committees and independent parliamentary budget offices. This title will be of interest to parliamentarians and parliamentary staff, legislative strengthening practitioners, and students of legislative development.

Transparency in Government Operations

Transparency in Government Operations PDF Author: Mr.J. D. Craig
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 155775697X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
Transparency in government operations is widely regarded as an important precondition for macroeconomic fiscal sustainability, good governance, and overall fiscal rectitude. Notably, the Interim Committee, at its April and September 1996 meetings, stressed the need for greater fiscal transparency. Prompted by these concerns, this paper represents a first attempt to address many of the aspects of transparency in government operations. It provides an overview of major issues in fiscal transparency and examines the IMF's role in promoting transparency in government operations.

The Overseers

The Overseers PDF Author: David G. McGee, QC
Publisher: Pluto Press (UK)
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
This report is the result of the meetings of a study group organized by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association with some participation by the World Bank. The members of the study group are members of public accounts committees, or PACs, in Australia, Botswana, Canada, India, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, and the UK. The aim of the group was to assess the operation of PACs and define their role in promoting good government, with consideration of issues that include accountability, PAC organization, problems peculiar to smaller legislatures, international cooperation, and information exchange. Not indexed. Distributed by Stylus. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Price Of Punishment: Public Spending For Corrections In New York

The Price Of Punishment: Public Spending For Corrections In New York PDF Author: Douglas Mcdonald
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 100030499X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Book Description
Despite the intensity of the national debate concerning control and correctional policies, neither the costs of existing agencies nor of alternative approaches are adequately understood. Accurate figures are not reported to private citizens or public officials, and spending is fragmented among different agencies and governing units. This study presents a comprehensive description and analysis of how much money was actually spent in New York in 1977–1978, at all levels of government, for each of the control systems that incarcerate or supervise criminal offenders/defendants. After a broad overview of criminal justice spending, it details spending for prisons, jails, probation, and parole; evaluates the services provided by these public expenditures; and discusses proposals for alternative penal policies and their fiscal implications. The book concludes with recommendations for improved government cost accounting, as well as suggestions for broader penal reforms. Although restricted to an analysis of New York, the findings and recommendations are broadly relevant to other regions of the country.

Managing Government Expenditure

Managing Government Expenditure PDF Author: Salvatore Schiavo-Campo
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Budget
Languages : en
Pages : 556

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Book Description
This is a comprehensive manual, based on a sound conceptual foundation but with a deliberate operational thrust, covering the entire public expenditure management cycle--from multiyear expenditure programming and budget formulation through budget execution, audit, and evaluation.

PEFA, Public Financial Management, and Good Governance

PEFA, Public Financial Management, and Good Governance PDF Author: Jens Kromann Kristensen
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 146481466X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
This project, based on the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) data set, researched how PEFA can be used to shape policy development in public financial management (PFM) and other major relevant policy areas such as anticorruption, revenue mobilization, political economy analysis, and fragile states. The report explores what shapes the PFM system in low- and middle-income countries by examining the relationship between political institutions and the quality of the PFM system. Although the report finds some evidence that multiple political parties in control of the legislature is associated with better PFM performance, the report finds the need to further refine and test the theories on the relationship between political institutions and PFM. The report addresses the question of the outcomes of PFM systems, distinguishing between fragile and nonfragile states. It finds that better PFM performance is associated with more reliable budgets in terms of expenditure composition in fragile states, but not aggregate budget credibility. Moreover, in contrast to existing studies, it finds no evidence that PFM quality matters for deficit and debt ratios, irrespective of whether a country is fragile or not. The report also explores the relationship between perceptions of corruption and PFM performance. It finds strong evidence of a relationship between better PFM performance and improvements in perceptions of corruption. It also finds that PFM reforms associated with better controls have a stronger relationship with improvements in perceptions of corruption compared to PFM reforms associated with more transparency. The last chapter looks at the relationship between PEFA indicators for revenue administration and domestic resource mobilization. It focuses on the credible use of penalties for noncompliance as a proxy for the type of political commitment required to improve tax performance. The analysis shows that countries that credibly enforce penalties for noncompliance collect more taxes on average.

Niger

Niger PDF Author: International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1589069706
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
This paper provides details of Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Assessment report for Niger. The measurement of the public financial management performance indicators shows that progress has been insignificant. Reform programs in progress in the area of oversight and external auditing are moving ahead; as this trend continues, the progress will be reflected in the scores of subsequent assessments. However, the progress of the external audit will continue to depend on positive trends in the area of accounting, information recording, and financial reporting.

Public Expenditure and the Select Committees of the Commons

Public Expenditure and the Select Committees of the Commons PDF Author: Vilma Flegmann
Publisher: Gower Publishing Company, Limited
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 92

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Book Description