Chamber of Accounts of the Russian Federation and Belarus’ State Control Committee Note Improvement of Financial Discipline as to Union State Budget Execution

Chamber of Accounts of the Russian Federation and Belarus’ State Control Committee advise specialized committees of the Union State Parliamentary Assembly to examine the progress of Union State budget execution in the first half-year of 2009, reports information department of Russia’s Chamber of Accounts having considered the operating report on Union State budget execution in January-June 2009.

Chamber of Accounts of the Russian Federation and Belarus’ State Control Committee advise specialized committees of the Union State Parliamentary Assembly to examine the progress of Union State budget execution in the first half-year of 2009, reports information department of Russia’s Chamber of Accounts having considered the operating report on Union State budget execution in January-June 2009.

The operating report that was prepared by Russia’s and Belarus’ financial control authorities specifies that in 2009 Union State budget revenues were raised from the agreed assignments of the member states in the sum of RUB 4.872 billion. Budget expenditures made up RUB 4.872 billion.

In the first half-year of 2009 consolidated budgetary profit and loss statement was amended and supplemented to the amount of target cash balance which hadn’t been drawn by chief budget owners as of December 31^st, 2008 and amounted to RUB 387.2 million. These means were allocated for the same purposes as before in addition to this year’s budgeted appropriations.

The audit showed that in the first half-year revenue budget was implemented 101.3% of the adjusted budgetary statement for the first half-year of 2009.

It was also noted that Chamber of Accounts of the Russian Federation and Belarus’ State Control Committee had more than once registered the fact of deposition of budgetary means with commercial organizations failing necessary normative documents which could enable them to conduct such transactions of the Union State budgetary funds.

Financing of expenses in January-June 2009 made up 80.2% of the adjusted budgetary statement for the first half-year of 2009, cash expenditures – 65.3%.

When comparing with the corresponding indices in the first half-years of 2007 and 2008 one can observe the improvement of financial discipline when the budget is executed by the Union State Standing Committee and chief budget owners.

At the same time the report noted insufficient implementation of the programmes and events within such sections of the functional classification as “Military and Technical Cooperation”, “Education”, “Mass Media” and “Social Policy”. Moreover, unsatisfactory budget execution within these sections was observed in 2007-2008 as well.

The Board of Russia’s Chamber of Accounts took a decision to send the operating report as well as an analytical memo to it to Boris Gryzlov, Chairman of the Union State Parliamentary Assembly.