Fiscal Transparency Handbook, 2018

Cover
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Acronyms
The Fiscal Transparency Code
Chapter 1. Overview
	Fiscal Transparency and its Importance
	The IMF’s Fiscal Transparency Code
	Fiscal Transparency Evaluations
	The Role of the Handbook
Chapter 2. Pillar I: Fiscal Reporting
	Dimension 1.1. Coverage of Fiscal Reports
	Dimension 1.2. Frequency and Timeliness of Fiscal Reports
	Dimension 1.3. Quality of Fiscal Reports
	Dimension 1.4. Integrity of Fiscal Reports
Chapter 3. Pillar II: Fiscal Forecasting and Budgeting
	Dimension 2.1. Comprehensiveness of Fiscal Forecasts and Budgets
	Dimension 2.2. Orderliness of Budget Process
	Dimension 2.3. Policy Orientation of Fiscal Forecasts and Budgets
	Dimension 2.4. Credibility
Chapter 4. Pillar III: Fiscal Risk Analysis and Management
	Dimension 3.1. Fiscal Risk Disclosure and Analysis
	Dimension 3.2. Fiscal Risk Management
	Dimension 3.3. Fiscal Coordination
Glossary
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Bibliography
Website References
Index
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List of Tables
	2.1 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	2.2 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	2.3 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	2.4 The Four Main Types of Budget Classification
	2.5 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	2.6 Three Major Models of Supreme Audit Institutions
	2.7 The Four Audit Opinions on Financial Statements
	3.1 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	3.2 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	3.3 Timing of the Submission of the Budget Proposal to the Legislature
	3.4 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	3.5 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	3.6 Indicative Reconciliation Table for Expenditure
	4.1 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	4.7.1 Fiscal Cost of Specific Contingent Liability Realizations (1990–2014)
	4.2 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	4.3 Relevant Standards, Norms, and Guidance Material
	4.4 Different Approaches to Managing Subnational Fiscal Risks
List of Figures
	1.1 Architecture of the Revised Fiscal Transparency Code
	1.2 Summary Results of Fiscal Transparency Evaluations Conducted as of the End of March 2018
	2.1 Examples of the Difference in Coverage in Various Fiscal Reports
	2.1.1 The Public Sector and Its Main Components
	2.2.1 Progress in Coverage of Budgetary, Central, and General Government Reporting(Number of Countries)
	2.8.1 Reporting of Assets and Liabilities (Number of Economies)
	2.11.1 Accounting Basis of Data Reported to the IMF, by Region (2016)
	2.2 Revenue Loss from Tax Expenditures in Selected Countries (Percentage of GDP)
	2.3 Periodicity and Timeliness of Central Government Fiscal Reporting (Number of Countries)
	2.17.1 Trends in Timeliness of Annual Financial Statements (Number of Countries)
	2.21.1 Classification Used (Number of Countries)
	2.25.1 Stock-Flow Reconciliation of the Financial Balance Sheet, 2015
	2.26.1 Revisions to Government Deficit (Percentage of GDP)
	2.26.2 Revisions to Gross Government Debt (Percentage of GDP)
	2.33.1 Comparability of Reports with Budget Estimates (Percentage of Total)
	3.1 Absolute Error Ex Post Real GDP Forecast Accuracy in EU for Budget Year (Average 2000–15)(Percentage of GDP)
	3.2 Optimism Bias Ex Post Real GDP Forecast Accuracy in EU Budget Year (Average 2000–15)(Percentage of GDP)
	3.5.1 Australia: Mining and Non-Mining Business as a Share of GDP
	3.17.1 Increase in the Number of Fiscal Rules, 1947–2017
	3.3 Number of Full-Time Equivalent Staff and Functions of Fiscal Councils
	3.4 Timing of Most Recent Supplementary Budget Approval
	4.1 Costs of Fiscal Risk Realizations
	4.1.1 Four Stages of Fiscal Risks Management
	4.6.1 UK Public Sector Net Borrowing Fan Chart (2008/09–2020/21)
	4.11.1 Increase in Health and Pension Costs (2015–50)
	4.2 Size of Contingency Reserves in Selected Countries (Percentage of Total Expenditure)
	4.3 Stock of Government Guarantees in European Countries (2016)
	4.4 Liabilities of Subnational Governments in OECD Countries (2016) (Percentage of GDP)
	4.5 Liabilities of Financial and Nonfinancial Public Corporations (2015) (Percentage of GDP)
List of Boxes
	1.1 The IMF’s Fiscal Transparency Code (the Code)
	1.2 Complementary Fiscal Standards and Assessment Tools
	2.1 The Public Sector and Its Subsectors
	2.2 Trends in the Institutional Coverage of Fiscal Reports
	2.3 Consolidation of Stocks and Flows within the Public Sector
	2.4 Extrabudgetary Funds
	2.5 Turkey and Brazil: Rationalization of Extrabudgetary Funds
	2.6 European Union Member States: General Government Consolidation
	2.7 Full Public Sector Consolidation: The Whole of Government Accounts of the United Kingdom
	2.8 Trends in Balance Sheet Reporting by Governments
	2.9 A Nomenclature for Public Debt
	2.10 Austria: The Statement of Financial Position of the Federal Government
	2.11 Accounting Basis of Fiscal Reports (Number of Countries)
	2.12 Philippines: Coverage of Flows
	2.13 OECD Approaches for Defining a Benchmark Tax System
	2.14 India and Peru: Reporting of Tax Expenditures
	2.15 Portugal: Reporting and Control on Tax Expenditures
	2.16 Budget Execution Reports: Country Examples
	2.17 Timeliness of Annual Financial Statements
	2.18 Peru: Consolidated Financial Statements
	2.19 Finland: Publication of Financial Statements of Central Government and Municipalities
	2.20 International Public Sector Accounting Standards: Key Characteristics of Financial Reporting
	2.21 How Countries Classify Budgets
	2.22 Kenya: Administrative and Economic Classifications
	2.23 Tunisia: Classification of Fiscal Transactions
	2.24 France: Program Classification
	2.25 Finland: Reconciliations of Fiscal Data
	2.26 Portugal: Historical Revisions to Fiscal Data
	2.27 Professional Practices of Fiscal Statistics Producing Agency
	2.28 Romania: Dissemination of Fiscal Statistics
	2.29 Canada: Ensuring Statistical Integrity
	2.30 Uganda: External Audit
	2.31 New Zealand: Audit Opinion of the Controller and Auditor-General
	2.32 Major Sources of Difference among Fiscal Forecasts, Budgets, and Fiscal Reports
	2.33 Comparison of Fiscal Reports with the Budget
	2.34 Australia and New Zealand: Aligning the Reporting Standards across Budgets, Statistics, and Accounts
	3.1 Principles/Criteria for Retention of Revenues by Ministries/Agencies
	3.2 Brazil: Federal Government Budget Documentation
	3.3 Portugal: Coverage of Budget Documentation
	3.4 Brazil: Macroeconomic Forecasts in the Budget
	3.5 Australia: Assumptions about Business Investment
	3.6 Medium-Term Budget Framework Terms and Concepts
	3.7 Costa Rica: Medium-Term Budget Framework
	3.8 Cameroon: Medium-Term Budget Framework
	3.9 South Africa: Medium-Term Expenditure Projections
	3.10 Cost-Benefit Analysis
	3.11 Elements of a Well-Designed Public Procurement System
	3.12 Chile and Korea: Managing Public Investment Projects
	3.13 Main Sections of a Budget System Law (Illustrative)
	3.14 Examples of the Latitude of the Legislature to Amend the Budget
	3.15 Iceland: Fiscal Legislation for an Orderly Budget Process
	3.16 WAEMU and CEMAC Countries: Fiscal Legislation
	3.17 Fiscal Rules
	3.18 Turkey: Expenditure Rules/Fiscal Targets
	3.19 Colombia and Peru: Numerical and Time-Bound Fiscal Policy Objectives
	3.20 Chile: Structural Balance Rule
	3.21 Key Characteristics of a Program Classification
	3.22 Definition of Key Terms Related to Performance Information
	3.23 Canada: Monitoring and Evaluation System
	3.24 Malawi: Presentation of Output Information
	3.25 Peru: Performance Information and the Budget Process
	3.26 Key Elements of the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policy
	3.27 Suggested Outline of a Citizen’s Guide to the Budget
	3.28 South Africa: Public Disclosure of Fiscal Information
	3.29 Korea: Open Discussion of Budget Issues
	3.30 Uganda: Use of Sector Working Groups
	3.31 Russia: Scrutiny of Government’s Macroeconomic and Fiscal Projections
	3.32 Georgia: Assessments of the Government’s Macroeconomic and Fiscal Forecasts
	3.33 UK Independent Office of Budget Responsibility and US Congressional Budget Office
	3.34 Kenya: Authorization by National Assembly of Changes to the Aggregate Approved Budget
	3.35 Tunisia: Legislative Authorization to Changes in Expenditures
	3.36 Romania: Identification of Changes in Aggregate-Level Forecasts
	3.37 Finland: Presentation of Forecast Reconciliations
	4.1 The Fiscal Risk Management Toolkit
	4.2 Budget Laws and Fiscal Risk Disclosure—Country Examples
	4.3 Example of Outline of a Comprehensive Statement of Fiscal Risks
	4.4 Brazil: Sensitivity Analysis in the Statement of Fiscal Risks
	4.5 New Zealand’s Macro-Fiscal Scenario Analysis and the Philippines’ Fiscal Risk Statement
	4.6 United Kingdom: Fan Charts of Macro-Fiscal Aggregates
	4.7 Specific Fiscal Risks: Sources and Magnitude
	4.8 Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire: Disclosure of Fiscal Risks
	4.9 Philippines: Fiscal Risk Statement
	4.10 Chile: Reports on Contingent Liabilities
	4.11 Fiscal Implications of Demographic Changes
	4.12 Australia: Intergenerational Reports
	4.13 Instruments for Managing Specific Fiscal Risks
	4.14 South Africa: Contingency Reserve Access Criteria
	4.15 Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy
	4.16 Debt Sustainability Analysis
	4.17 Georgia: Debt Sustainability Analysis
	4.18 New Zealand’s Investment Statement
	4.19 Brazil: Policy on Federal Guarantees
	4.20 United States: Disclosure on Guarantees
	4.21 PPP Fiscal Risk Assessment Model
	4.22 Uganda: Annual Disclosure of Contingent Liabilities Related to Public-Private Partnership Contracts
	4.23 Chile: Framework for Managing Public-Private Partnerships
	4.24 Finland: Reports on Financial Stability
	4.25 Contingent Claims Analysis
	4.26 Norway: Reporting on Natural Resources
	4.27 Colombia and Turkey: The Management of Risks from Natural Disasters
	4.28 Colombia and Iceland: Monitoring Regime for Subnational Governments
	4.29 Norway: State Ownership Strategy
	4.30 Lithuania: Annual Reports of Public Corporations