Use of performance information in budgeting and management processes – Lessons of an OECD conference

The budget is one of the most important economic policy documents of the governments, in which the coordination and implementation of political objectives is translated into concrete actions and concrete budgetary allocations. Transparency – i.e. openness in the formulation and implementation of economic and political intentions – is a key element of good governance. The OECD countries are in the lead in terms of budgetary transparency: they are seeking forms of conciliation with which they can win the society and the economic players over to the budgetary targets as much as possible. However, the key element continues to be the agreement between the legislative and executive powers, and the conditions and real content of this agreement. To monitor the development of the budgetary system, each year OECD selects one or two topics for detailed examination based on the responses given to the questionnaire.