Budget Residues Constituting a Budgetary Risk

Nowadays, the quality of fiscal management is increasingly significant. The generation and use of budget appropriation residues is an important, however, hardly analysed topic in either the Hungarian or the international literature. This article outlines the role of appropriation residues in fiscal management, as well as the cases of its generation. It underlines that both the large-scale generation and the use of residues represent budgetary risks. Based on the final accounts data of the period between 2007 and 2016, it analyses the characteristics of the generation and use of the residues of the central budget. It underlines that although the balance of residues generated and used fluctuated in different years, there has been a trend of increase in the value of residues generated and used. Next, the study aims to investigate the reasons behind the generation of residues by analysing individual budget headings. Finally, the article draws attention to the fact that several tools are available for the government (such as the application of “pool technique” or accrual-based accounting) to manage the risks associated with residues.