African governments are increasingly assuming new functions to respond to social and economic needs, and these functions are slowly becoming part of the accepted responsibilities of government. These book addresses the need to modernise and improve budgetary concepts and procedures; and documents work achieved so far to make the budget system responsive to the increasing responsibilities of the state, and people's search for a better quality of life. The study discusses and provides practical guidance on how the budgetary system can be an effective device for planning, reviewing and controlling government operations, particularly in relation to the implementation of national development within the scope of public budget. Contents: budget policy; programme performance and the budgeting system; budget preparation, legislative authorisation; budget execution; budget accountability; government financial management; and the governmental budget department. The author is a member of the Department of Management and Accounting, at the University of Ife, Nigeria.

Traditionally, economics training in public finances has focused more on tax than public expenditure issues, and within expenditure, more on policy considerations than the more mundane matters of public expenditure management. For many years, the IMF's Public Expenditure Management Division has answered specific questions raised by fiscal economists on such missions. Based on this experience, these guidelines arose from the need to provide a general overview of the principles and practices observed in three key aspects of public expenditure management: budget preparation, budget execution, and cash planning. For each aspect of public expenditure management, the guidelines identify separately the differing practices in four groups of countries - the francophone systems, the Commonwealth systems, Latin America, and those in the transition economies. Edited by Barry H. Potter and Jack Diamond, this publication is intended for a general fiscal, or a general budget, advisor interested in the macroeconomic dimension of public expenditure management.

This analysis of budgetary systems and policies across the world examines how politics, culture, and economics influence public finance.