Goal-Setting in Budget Expenditure Reviews: A Comparative Analysis of Russian and Foreign Practice

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze Russian and foreign goal-setting practices when choosing types of expenses and problems that will later be considered in the framework of budget expenditure reviews. The author used methods of comparative legal, logical and systemic analysis. The study showed that goal setting has a major impact on the process of selecting issues when budget expenditure reviews are preparing, on their structure and subsequent use: at the same time, there is a competition between the goals of saving and increasing the efficiency of budget expenditure. The goals of saving budget become a priority in a situation of increasing budget deficit, or under pressure from international structures such as the European Commission. At the same time, the task of overcoming budgetary incrementalism, that is, the annual “inheritance” of the structure and volume of current expenditures, is usually not solved, even if it is reflected in the reviews. Thus, the main task in preparing reviews is to increase the efficiency of budget expenditures, which, as a rule, means a very vague range of management decisions. In addition, increasing the efficiency of budget expenditures, as a rule, is not achieved in practice. The study also showed that most countries, as a rule, do not use any formalized methodology when setting goals and selecting types of expenditures for subsequent reviews of budget expenditures.