New development: Budgetary accounting in Colombia—arguments for a much-needed reform

ABSTRACT

Public financial management reforms are needed in Colombia to integrate the accrual-based accounting system with budgets. This would remove the need to make accounting variations through deficit measurement and would supply better information about the impact of public policies on the country’s financial situation. This article briefly explains why Colombia needs to integrate its accounting and budgeting systems.

IMPACT

This article argues that policy-makers need to push for a move towards an accrual-based accounting system that is integrated with the budget. The result, compared with traditional cash-based budgeting, would be greater analytical benefits for government deficit measurement and public finance sustainability analysis. In addition, it would provide the macroeconomic statistics needed to improve public financial management.

KEYWORDS:

• Accrual
• budgetary accounting
• deficit
• financial reforms
• government development objectives

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).