Question 69

Do the In-Year Reports present actual expenditures for individual programs?
 * a. Yes, the In-Year Reports present actual expenditures for programs accounting for all expenditures.
 * b. Yes, the In-Year Reports present actual expenditures for programs accounting for at least two-thirds of, but not all, expenditures.
 * c. Yes, the In-Year Reports present actual expenditures for programs accounting for less than two-thirds of expenditures.
 * d. No, the In-Year Reports do not present actual expenditures by program.
 * e. Not applicable/other (please comment).

OBS Guidelines
Question 69 asks if expenditure estimates in In-Year Reports are presented by program. There is no standard definition for the term “program,” and the meaning can vary from country to country. However, for the purposes of answering the questionnaire, researchers should understand the term “program” to mean any level of detail below an administrative unit, such as a ministry or department.

A note for francophone countries: “Program” level detail is sometimes referred to as le plan comptable or le plan comptable detaille. (These data are typically coded in the financial management database, following the chart of budgetary accounts, so that they can be organized by administrative and functional classification.)

To answer “a,” In-Year Reports must present actual expenditures for all individual programs, accounting for all expenditures. To answer “b,” In-Year Reports must present actual expenditures for individual programs that when combined account for at least two-thirds of expenditures, but not all expenditures. A “c” answer applies if In-Year Reports present actual expenditures for programs that account for less than two-thirds of expenditures. Answer “d” applies if actual expenditures are not presented by program in In-Year Reports.

1) "Other" categories
Watch out for aggregate categories, such as “other.” To receive an “a” answer, the “other” category has to be smaller than 3% of the total. If the “other” category is more than 3%, then the score should be “b.”

2) How should the term "program" be treated?
As the guidelines state, researchers should treat the term “program” as meaning any level of detail below an administrative unit. However, note that economic classification (e.g., “compensation”, “use of goods and services”, “consumption of fixed capital”, “interest”, “subsidies”, “grants”, “social benefits”, “other expenses”, etc.) below the administrative unit DOES NOT count. In addition, a sub-functional classification below a functional classification also does not count. In OBS 2019, for example, China released an Enacted Budget (see attached) that had sub-functional classifications within the functional classification of the budget. We did not count these sub-functional classifications as programs.

If you find a functional classification beneath an administrative classification, please bring it to the team.