Managing Public Expenditure: A Reference Book for Transition Countries (Finance and Investment)

Managing Public Expenditure presents a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of all aspects of public expenditure management from the preparation of the budget to the execution, control and audit stages. The book will be of general interest but is focused particularly on the needs of countries in transition, especially those in Central and Eastern Europe that seek to become members of the European Union. The book provides practical, operational information and guidance on all areas of public expenditure management, e.g. legal and institutional frameworks, preparation of the budget, implementation, cash management, performance management, accounting, financial information and reporting systems, internal control and internal audit, and external audit. Each part of the book ends with key points and directions for reform. The detailed questionnaire will help practitioners to identify the strong and weak elements in their budget systems so that they can take necessary remedial action. Managing Public Expenditure ends with a comprehensive glossary, bibliography and index. Ministries of finance, government control offices, supreme audit institutions, national statistics offices and other budgetary/financial institutions in developing and transition countries can use the book as a resource to review and reform the institutions, systems and procedures in place for effective and efficient resource allocation. The book will also be useful as a reference text for training budget officials. Richard Allen is an economist and spent most of his career at HM Treasury (the British Ministry of Finance), working mainly in the areas of fiscal policy, EU affairs, public expenditure management and international finance. He has also served as a diplomat in Washington DC and as a board member of the European Investment Bank. He was head of the budget and resource allocation team of the SIGMA Programme and is now adviser on governance at the Asian Development Bank. Daniel Tommasi is a Paris-ba