17.08.2022
The Ministry of Finance announced that they would prepare the state budget for 2023 in two formats in the context of the transition of the civil service to the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) management system.
According to the annual financial plan of the Ministry of Finance, the Strategic Fiscal Policy Framework, due to the dynamic nature of the ERP reform in the civil service and the need for a smooth transition to the new state of affairs, the ministry will prepare two budgets . documents , one in the traditional form and one in the form of an activity-based budget (ABB) “for the purpose of dealing with any unforeseen technical situations”.
Speaking to CNA, Melina Katsunotou, director of the Budget Office at the Ministry of Finance, said the ministry needs to ensure that the ERP system needed to implement ABB is ready in order for ABB’s budget proposal to be submitted. to parliament.
“But we cannot take the risk of not submitting the budget to the Parliament, so we have also prepared the budget in the traditional form,” she said.
Katsunoto said the final form of the budget document will be determined in the coming weeks. “Our goal is to present the budget to ABB, but due to technical reasons this is not possible, we will present the traditional budget,” she added, noting that the final decisions have not yet been made.
The Ministry of Finance spokesperson also said that the main difference between the ABB format and the traditional budget format is that the ABB promotes accountability, efficiency and gives ministries more flexibility to control their budgets, contributing to better financial and human resource management.
ABB is seen as a mechanism used by different countries to achieve better governance results, Katsunotou added, noting that the big difference with ABB’s budget is that it links the use of resources to the strategic planning of each ministry and therefore the government as a whole.
The state budget for 2023 is expected to be discussed by the Council of Ministers at the end of September. According to the law on fiscal responsibility, the state budget must be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers and submitted to parliament by September 30.
