A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending.
In summary, the purpose of budgeting is to:
• Provide a forecast of revenues and expenditures, that is, construct a model of how our business might perform financially if certain strategies, events and plans are carried out.
• Enable the actual financial operation of the business to be measured against the forecast.
• Establish the cost constraint for a project program, or operation.
The government budget is a set of procedures by which the government rations resources among claimants and control the amount each claimant spends. This is through accounting of the payments received by government (taxes and other fees) and the payments made by government (purchases and transfer payments).
The annual budget is the central component of management accounting in public sector organization. In part this is a reflection of the environment public service organizations operate.
The government budget is used as an instrument for economic policy, tool for economic management and an instrument for accountability.
It an allocation mechanism that aims to maximize the contribution of public expenditure to national welfare. This can be achieved by ensuring that the budget process successfully allocates scarce resources so that the marginal unit of expenditure achieves the same marginal benefit in each category of expenditure.
The government budget should reflect the development agenda of a country which will in turn influence the attainment of national goals and investment targets.
Overview of Kenya’s government budgeting process
Kenya’s financial year begins as of 1st of July and ends as of 30th June the following year. The Ministry Of Finance, headed by the minister of finance manages the government’s budget & money.
25 ministries of the Kenyan government
References: D. Henley, Public Sector Accounting and Financial Control. 1992, London; Chapman & Hall Publishers. Jane Kiringai , Budget Reforms & Medium Expenditure Framework In Kenya. 2002, Nairobi; Kenya Institute Of Public Policy Research & Analysis (KIPPRA) Our government & its Money. 1982, Nairobi; East Africa Publishing House Dickson Khainga, Review Of The Government Of Kenya 2004/2005 Budget. 2005, Nairobi; Kenya Institute Of Public Policy Research & Analysis