In the United States, the size and composition of the federal budget is arguably the most important single issue of the 1990's, yet most debates and commentaries on the subject are largely uninformed. Virtually no one - whether government official, member of Congress, journalist, or taxpayer -...

This study investigates how auditors alter their audit program decisions in response to an increased likelihood of fraud risk. A total of 48 auditors from one Big 5 CPA firm were surveyed regarding the type of audit procedures they would use in response to an increased likelihood of material...

Performance budgeting (PB) emerged more than 60 years ago as a key driver of budgetary innovation in the United States. Due to its often lofty goals, PB initiatives were rarely successful, but have instead reappeared, in different forms and with new labels. This article focuses on contemporary...

Performance budgeting and accrual budgeting are analytic tools that provide information and insights which are not available through conventional approaches. But neither innovation is ready for widespread application as a decision rule in the budget process. This article urges fuller...

Budgeting is a rule-driven process that regulates the raising and spending of public money. Detailed rules govern the submission of bids for resources by spending units, review of these bids by the Finance Ministry or another central organ, compilation of the annual budget, legislative action...

The contemporary nation-state exists to perform – to provide financial assistance, public services and other benefits to its people. How well the government performs influences the economic and social well-being of citizens, the mindset that voters take into the election booth, the programmes...

Budgeting is a work in progress. The process is never quite settled because those who manage it are never fully satisfied. To budget is to decide on the basis of inadequate information, often without secure knowledge of how past appropriations were used or of what was accomplished, or of the...

Budgeting is fundamentally altered, if only temporarily, by pressures that overwhelm established policies and practices. This article discusses conventional and non-conventional responses to crisis, and how crisis impacts on the budget process. Just as crisis has mobilised governments to take...

The network of senior budget officials (SBO) was launched in 1980 as an ad hoc response to the budget stress that beset most developed countries in the aftermath of oil price shocks, high inflation, and economic stagnation.