Good Budgetary Governance:Transparency, Accountability and Beyond

Ronnie DownesDeputy Head - Budgeting and Public Expenditures, OECD

OGP – Fiscal Openness Working GroupLondon, 2 November 2013

• Budget reports (7 in total)– Pre-election– Long-term sustainability

• Specific disclosures– Non-financial assets– Contingent liabilities

• Integrity & accountability– Audit– Parliamentary scrutiny– Public availability on internet– Promote public understanding

OECD’s starting point

Since 2002 …

• OECD Senior Budget Officials– Regional networks: LAC, CESEE, Asia; also CABRI liaison– Thematic networks: Performance & Results; PPPs; Budget

Accounting (Accruals); Independent Fiscal Institutions; Health Budgeting

• Budget Reviews / Public Governance Reviews• Restoring Public Finances, 2011, 2012• OECD Survey of Budget Practices & Procedures,

2007, 2012-13

Developments & Priorities in budgeting

• from annual to medium-term budgeting• heightened focus on management of fiscal risks• from inputs to outputs, performance and impacts• from MoF to independent institutions• greater engagement of parliament and citizens• budgeting as an instrument of public governance

OECD Public Governance framework

Fiscal rules MTEF

Strategic public sector

HR

Strategic priorities

Performance, Evaluation &

VFMParticipation

Transparency & Openness

Fiscal Risks & Sustainability

Top-downBudgeting

Managing complex

risks

Integrity & anti-

corruption

ICT & e-govt

Strategic centre of

government

Delivering government objectives

Quality of Regulation

Budgeting & PFM

Coordination across levels of

government

Public service

innovation

Citizen engagement

Open procurement

Setting norms across OECD

Country experiences• OECD Networks• Surveys• Country reviews• Studies and analysis• Gathering and

exchanging knowledge

Good practices• Pooling knowledge• guidance tool• flexible

Recommendations & Principles• “locking in” what has

been learned• OECD norms• Governments adopt • Commitment to

respect

Elements of Good Budgetary Governance (draft)

Fiscal rules MTEF

Quality, Integrity &

Independence

Strategic priorities

Performance, Evaluation &

VFMParticipation

Transparency & Openness

Fiscal Risks & Sustainability

Top-downBudgeting

True, full & fair budget

accounting

Fiscal objectives

Medium-term clarity

Strategic plans &

priorities

Performance, evaluation &

VFM

Transparency, openness & accessibility

Participation, Inclusiveness

& Realism

Fiscal Risks & Sustainability

Top-downbudgeting

Some key themes & challenges?

• Radically new approaches to fiscal risk? – Experience has been sobering

• The dimensions and modalities of “participation”– Citizen v. parliamentary prerogatives– Insider-outsider risks– “free-for-all” versus realism in budgeting

• Performance budgeting– Holy grail, fool’s gold – or an emerging consensus?

• Inter-connectedness: elements are not discrete– e.g. fiscal rules top-down MTEF planning & evaluation– e.g. should independent institutions (new and old) be mobilised to

address various aspects of budgeting?