Question 90

Does the Year-End Report present the differences between the original estimates of government borrowing and debt, including its composition, for the fiscal year and the actual outcome for that year?
 * a. Yes, estimates of the differences between all of the original estimates of government borrowing and debt for the fiscal year and the actual outcome for that year are presented, along with a narrative discussion.
 * b. Yes, estimates of the differences between all the original estimates of government borrowing and debt for the fiscal year and the actual outcome for that year are presented, but a narrative discussion is not included.
 * c. Yes, estimates of the differences between some but not all of the original estimates of government borrowing and debt for the fiscal year and the actual outcome for that year are presented.
 * d. No, estimates of the differences between the original estimates of government borrowing and debt for the fiscal year and the actual outcome for that year is not presented.
 * e. Not applicable/other (please comment).

OBS Guidelines
Question 90 asks whether the Year-End Report includes estimates of the differences between the original estimates and the actual outcome for the fiscal year for borrowing and debt, including its composition, and whether these estimates are accompanied by a narrative discussion.

Refer to Question 13 for details on estimates in the Executive’s Budget Proposal of borrowing and debt. Key estimates related to borrowing and debt include:
 * the amount of net new borrowing required during the budget year;
 * the central government’s total debt burden at the end of the budget year; and
 * the interest payments on the outstanding debt for the budget year.

Refer to Question 14 for details on estimates in the Executive’s Budget Proposal related to the composition of the debt. Core information related to the composition of government debt include:
 * interest rates on the debt;
 * maturity profile of the debt; and
 * whether the debt is domestic or external.

To answer “a,” the Year-End Report must include estimates of the differences between all of the original estimates of borrowing and debt, including its composition, for the fiscal year and the actual outcome for that year, including a narrative discussion. Answer “b” if the Year-End Report presents estimates of the differences between all of the original estimates of borrowing and debt for the fiscal year and the actual outcome for that year, but does not include a narrative discussion. Answer “c” if estimates of the differences between some but not all of the original estimates of borrowing and debt for the fiscal year and the actual outcome for that year are presented, regardless of whether a narrative discussion is included. A “d” response applies if estimates of the differences are not presented.

1) Should we assess this question against all key estimates or only those presented in the EBP?
We should assess this question against all key estimates (all six components) and check in how many countries does the score change in this approach.

2) When only some estimates have been updated, but all differences are explained
In OBS 2019, in Jamaica’s Mid-Year Review, 4 of the 6 estimates of government borrowing and debt were updated (1. amount of net new borrowing; 2. total debt burden; 3. interest payments on the outstanding debt; 4. whether the debt is domestic or external). In addition, information on all the differences between those four original and four updated estimates was presented.

We assess this as a “b” response to be consistent in our evaluations of Question 83 and Question 90, which ask similar questions. For this question, if there is some information on updated estimates, and some or all differences are discussed, we score it a “b”. Meanwhile, if the MYR has any (or all) information on updated estimates, but no discussion of differences, a “c” response is appropriate. A MYR with ALL information on updated estimates and ALL discussion on differences would qualify as an “a” response.

3) What if nonfinancial data on results are presented for most but not all administrative units?
In OBS 2021 in the United States, individual agencies each released an Annual Performance Plan and Report around the time of the budget. Nonfinancial data on results can be found for all programs in these documents. The Department of Energy was the only agency that did not release an APP&R in a timely manner. Since its budget accounts for less than 3% of the total budget, we still scored this question "a" for the US, not "c".