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Reading Budgets

This presentation explains how to read and understand the budget tables in the February budget votes and the annual reports. It also describes the narrative included in these documents, as well as provides tips for reading numbers critically.

christopherfrank
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Reading Budgets

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  1. Reading Budgets

  2. This presentation • Explains how to read the budget tables in the February budget votes • Explains how to read the budget tables in the annual reports • Describes some of the narrative that is in each of these two documents

  3. Expenditure tables in vote (p333) • Each vote is divided into programmes • A programme is made up of sub-programmes • Estimates are given for seven years • Three years before current year • Current year (still in progress) • Budget year for voting • Two ‘outer’ years of MTEF • Current year can have 3 estimates • Original allocation, adjusted (October), & revised

  4. Narrative in the vote • Budget summary table • Overall aim & purpose of each programme • Strategic overview of 7-year period • Table of selected performance indicators • Detailed expenditure estimates for 7 years • Discussion of expenditure trends • Discussion & table of revenues • Section for each programme with further disaggregation & sub-programme information

  5. The size of the numbers • Remember to add the 0s: • National budget usually millions (000000) • Provincial budget usually thousands (000) • All numbers are in nominal terms. They are not adjusted for inflation. • If inflation if 5%, then a nominal increase of less than 5% means that the buying power of the budget is less than before. • Inflation measures the change in prices over 1 year. • Government often reports increased allocations over three years i.e. for full MTEF period. So the increases can seem bigger than they really are.

  6. Categorising expenditure • The economic classification gives the ‘bookkeeping’ breakdown for the programme as a whole. • Three main economic categories: • Current payments – spent for things to be ‘used up’ in budget year. Includes SALARIES • Transfers & subsidies – money paid to other institutions who will spend it (e.g. CCMA, NEDLAC) • Payments for capital assets – spent for things that will last more than one year

  7. Structure of annual report • General information • *** Programme performance *** • Report of the Audit Committee • Annual financial statements • Human resource development

  8. Budget table in annual report (p10) • All numbers are for year on which Department is reporting i.e. 2009/10. • Voted is what was voted in February as adjusted by revisions in October. • Roll-overs are unspent money from previous year • Virement is money shifted between programmes • Actual expenditure is what was spent • Variance is difference between total vote (incl. all adjustments) and expenditure. A positive amount means the Department under-spent. • Separate table for transfer payments (p11)

  9. Reading numbers critically • Think about real, not only nominal, changes. • Compare expenditure with original allocation. • Consider whether the economic breakdown e.g. % spent on salaries, is appropriate. • Compare trends in expenditure with trends in performance indicators. • Ask whether the performance indicators measure things that will benefit PEOPLE. • What else??

  10. Reading the annual report

  11. Aim of Dept of Labour • To play a significant role in reducing unemployment, poverty & inequality, through policies & programmes … aimed at: improved economic efficiency & productivity; skills development & employment creation; sound labour relations; eliminating inequality & discrimination & poverty in the workplace; improving employment and protecting & improving workers’ rights & benefits.

  12. Labour’s five programmes • Administration: Overall management & support and advisory services to department • Service delivery: Protect health & safety of workers and enforce policies • Employment & skills development services: Achieve objectives & targets of national skills development strategy • Labour policy & labour market programmes: Establish equitable & sound labour relations environment • Social insurance: Administrative & support services to Unemployment Insurance and Compensation Fund

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