The United States Department of the Treasury advises ministries of finance and national budget bureaus on issues related to budget policy and management. This assistance is provided to aid countries with the transformation and modernization of their resource allocation systems with a view toward strengthening the effectiveness of the institutions and the credibility of government budgetary decisions.
Modern public budget systems are founded on the principle of a strong executive leadership that is accountable for results. Treasury technical assistance incorporates this principle along with technical best practices and strives to ensure that government executives have the advantage of an "executive budget system" that improves decision-making, strengthens accountability for results, increases transparency, and has effective parliamentary oversight.
The Budget Policy and Management Program accomplishes its mission by assisting host government executives in the utilization of numerous management and decision-making tools. Examples of this include:
• Drafting national budget laws and regulations;
• Improving classification and account structures;
• Refining processes for annual budget formulation and presentation;
• Providing revenue/expenditure and macroeconomic forecasting advice;
• Designing and implementing organization structures;
• Building a strong professional budget and finance staff apparatus;
• Teaching modern leadership and management skills;
• Leading and consulting on projects to develop analytical capacity;
• Demonstrating analytic techniques to improve program efficiency and effectiveness;
• Assisting in budget execution refinement including improved treasury, cash management, and debt tracking systems;
• Providing financial advice in substantive policy sectors such as education, pensions, health, housing, welfare, and agriculture;
• Defining policy, administrative, and financial responsibilities among government levels;
• Developing local government finance structures;
• Helping to define the role of the prime minister or president in budget processes;
• Increasing bureaucratic responsiveness in implementing government policies;
• Designing and implementing single account treasuries, leading to reductions in interest costs and better cash management and control;
• Building infrastructure planning, budgeting and management systems; and
• Ensuring effective parliamentary oversight.
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