Expenditure Control: Key Features, Stages, and Actors

April 20, 2016

Preview Citation

Format: Chicago

Sailendra Pattanayak. Expenditure Control: Key Features, Stages, and Actors, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2016) accessed December 26, 2024

Disclaimer: This Technical Guidance Note should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF. The views expressed in this Note are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

This paper defines and explains key stages of the government expenditure chain and describes the controls applied at each stage, including their objectives and key features as well as centralized vs. decentralized approaches in application of those controls. The paper also examines the influence of different administrative traditions on types of expenditure controls, including the authority and responsibility of various institutional actors. Finally, it discusses typical weaknesses/problems associated with different traditions of expenditure control and suggests specific measures for strengthening the control framework. 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. This paper will help public financial management practitioners to evaluate budget execution systems and identify priorities for strengthening expenditure controls. It will also usefully guide technical assistance work related to modernization of government budget execution and expenditure control systems, including the design and implementation of IT-based financial management information systems.

Subject: Budget execution and treasury management, Budget planning and preparation, Central government spending, Expenditure, Expenditure control, Public financial management (PFM)

Keywords: Accounting and reporting, Africa, Appropriation framework, Australia and New Zealand, Budget execution, Budget execution and treasury management, Budget planning and preparation, Cash planning, Central government spending, Commitment control, Control, Country, Expenditure arrears, Expenditure control, Expenditure control systems, Expenditure control tradition, Expenditure control weakness, Expenditure cycle, Expenditure operation, Expenditure transaction, Financial management information system, Forecasting government cash requirements, Payment, Payment control, Payment order, Public financial management, TNM, Transaction processing, Treasury management

Publication Details

Pages:

32
Volume:

---
DOI:

---
Issue:

---
Series:

Technical Notes and Manuals No. 2016/002
Stock No:

TNMEA2016002
ISBN:

9781513574639
ISSN:

2075-8669

FACTSHEETS

RESOURCES

TOPICS

Flagship Publications

Other Publications

IMF reports and publications by country

Regional Offices

All News

See Also

For Journalists

Press Center

RESOURCES

FLAGSHIPS

KEY SERIES

IMF NOTES

Technical Notes and Manuals