Many PEMPAL member countries have made major changes to their systems of budget preparation. Such changes can and do have a significant impact on the effectiveness of public internal control (PIC). Monitoring developments in budget setting processes to determine how these will affect internal control and internal audit are therefore an important role of central harmonization units (CHU). CHUs, established in ministries of finance, are also responsible for PIC reform coordination and implementation, including public sector internal audit and internal control.
Based on demand from PEMPAL Internal Audit Community of Practice (IACOP) member countries, this smart interactive talk (SIT) of Internal Control Working Group will consider the relationship between internal control and public sector budgeting and how this may be impacted by the shift towards program and performance budgeting (PPB). The SIT will benefit from specialist input on public sector budgeting from the PEMPAL Budget Community of Practice. Guest speakers will share their experience of PPB from the Netherlands, South Africa, Lithuania, and other PEMPAL region countries and beyond. The SIT will seek to provide answers to the following questions:
- What is PPB and its rationale and what kind of benefits it can bring to different stakeholders?
- How are PPB benefits, evolution, and modern good practices linked with managerial accountability?
- How does the budget setting process, including a shift to PPB, impact the accountability of managers for the resources provided to them to achieve their goals? How does PPB promote the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness?
- What is the impact on internal control of a change in budget responsibilities?
- How do centralized and decentralized budget management processes impact internal control and internal audit responsibilities?
- How should the CHU collaborate with budget policy makers to facilitate effective PIC implementation?
