SNG PILLAR: INTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONS
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
HLG-1 Transfers from Higher Levels of Government
D
Notes:
HLG-1.1 Outturn from higher-levels of government
D
Notes:
In all three years, the deviation of actual grants from the original budgeted grants was more than 116% of the original budget. The outturns for 2016, 2017 and 2018 are 225.8%, 199.9% and 361.4%, respectively.
HLG-1.2 Transfers composition outturn
D
Notes:
The composition variance of ear-marked grants was more than 15% for each of the three completed FYs. The variances in 2016, 2017 and 2018 were 82.6%, 60.1% and 101.1%, respectively.
HLG-1.3 Timeliness of transfers from higher-levels of government
C
Notes:
A disbursement timetable is prescribed by law. Over 50% of actual transfers were on time in two of the last three completed FYs.
HLG-1.4 Predictability of transfers
D
Notes:
The higher levels of government provide no documents with information on transfers for the current FY and the two following FYs, and there is no explanation for changes between the current and the previous year.
HLG-2 Fiscal rules of monitoring of fiscal position
NU
Notes:
HLG-2.1 Fiscal rules for subnational governments
NU
Notes:
HLG-2.2 Debt rules for subnational governments
NU
Notes:
HLG-2.3 Monitoring of subnational governments
NU
Notes:
I. BUDGET RELIABILITY
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
PI-1 Aggregate expenditure out-turn
D
Notes:
PI-1.1 Aggregate expenditure out-turn
D
Notes:
Aggregate expenditure outturn deviated significantly from the budgeted amounts in the last three FYs, the outturn is 178.5%, 178.3% and 316.0% of the approved budget respectively.
PI-2 Expenditure composition outturn
D+
Notes:
PI-2.1 Expenditure composition outturn by function
D
Notes:
Variance in expenditure composition by functional classification was more than 15% for each of the last three years. The variances of three years are 51.6%, 45.8% and 49.5%, respectively.
PI-2.2 Expenditure composition outturn by economic type
NA
Notes:
There was no economic classification for governmental funds in the last three completed years.
PI-2.3 Expenditure from contingency reserves.
A
Notes:
In the last three FYs, the budget for contingency reserves was arranged Actual expenditure charged to a contingency vote was on average less than three percent of the original budget.
Notes:
PI-3.1 Agregate revenue outturn
B
Notes:
In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the variances in aggregate revenue were 100.4%, 110.6% and 266.4% respectively. The actual revenues were between 94% and 112% of budgeted revenues in two of the last three years.
PI-3.2 Revenue composition outturn
D
Notes:
Composition variance in revenue collection in the last three years was 28.3%, 46.2% and 76.0% respectively, all more than 15%.
II. TRANSPARENCY OF PUBLIC FINANCES
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
PI-4 Budget Classification
D
Notes:
PI-4.1 Budget Classification
D
Notes:
The budget documentation is nationally consistent. The GPB is based on functional and economic classifications, but the GFB is only based on functional classification.
PI-5 Budget Documentation
C
Notes:
PI-5.1 Budget Documentation
C
Notes:
The budget documentation contains three basic elements and two additional elements.
PI-6 Subnational government operations outside financial reports
A
Notes:
PI-6.1 Expenditure outside financial reports
A
Notes:
There are five public hospitals in Pingjiang. Although they are budgetary units, they have extrabudgetary activities. And all extrabudgetary expenditure were recorded in the financial reports of the Health Bureau in the last three FYs.
PI-6.2 Revenue outside financial reports
A
Notes:
There are five public hospitals in Pingjiang. Although they are budgetary units, they have extrabudgetary activities. And all extrabudgetary revenue were recorded in the financial reports of the Health Bureau in the last three FYs.
PI-6.3 Financial reports of extrabudgetary units
A
Notes:
Financial reports of all extrabudgetary activities, containing full information on revenue, expenditure, financial and tangible assets, liabilities, guarantees, and long-term obligations, and supported by a reconciled cash flow statement, are submitted to the SNG annually within one month of the end of the FYs.
PI-7 Transfers to subnational governments
NA
Notes:
PI-7.1 System for allocating transfers
NA
Notes:
There are no separate lower-level SNGs, rather deconcentrated units of the county government.
PI-7.2 Timeliness of information on transfers
NA
Notes:
There are no separate lower-level SNGs, rather deconcentrated units of the county government.
PI-8 Performance information for service delivery
C+
Notes:
PI-8.1 Performance plans for service delivery
C
Notes:
Information on the activities to be performed under the policies or programs for all service delivery units is published annually. 53.39% of service delivery units have a framework of PIs relating to the outputs or outcomes. That is the majority.
PI-8.2 Performance achieved for service delivery
D
Notes:
The performance achieved is not published.
PI-8.3 Resources received by service delivery units
A
Notes:
Information on resources received by frontline service delivery unitsis collected and recorded for the selected service delivery units, disaggregated by source of funds. A report compiling the information is prepared at least annually.
PI-8.4 Performance evaluation for service delivery
C
Notes:
Independent evaluations of the efficiency or effectiveness of service delivery were carried out for 78.07% of the service delivery units in 2017. But no evaluation report was published.
PI-9 Public access to fiscal information
D
Notes:
PI-9.1 Public access to fiscal information
D
Notes:
The Pingjiang Government made available to the public three basic elements within the specified time frame.
9bis Public consultation
NU
Notes:
9bis.1 Public consultation in budget preparation
NU
Notes:
9bis.2 Public consultation in the design of service delivery programs
NU
Notes:
9bis.3 Public consultation in investment planning
NU
Notes:
III. MANAGEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
PI-10 Fiscal risk reporting
C+
Notes:
PI-10.1 Monitoring of public corporations
C
Notes:
All of the ten largest PCs in Pingjiang submitted financial reports to the controlling entities within three months after the FY.
PI-10.2 Monitoring of subnational governments
NA
Notes:
There are no SNGs within Pingjiang.
PI-10.3 Contingent liabilities and other fiscal risks
B
Notes:
There are no state insurance schemes or PPP projects in Pingjiang. The guarantees and other contingent liabilities are recorded in the government debt management system.
PI-11 Public investment management
C+
Notes:
PI-11.1 Economic analysis of investment proposals
C
Notes:
Economic analyses are conducted according to national guidelines to assess all major investment projects and are reviewed by a third party (DRC); but they are not published.
PI-11.2 Investment project selection
A
Notes:
The major Investment Project Office directly under the mayor is responsible for selecting the projects and making proposals to the County Committee.
PI-11.3 Investment project costing
D
Notes:
Investment project costing information is not included in the budget documents.
PI-11.4 Investment project monitoring
C
Notes:
The total cost and physical progress of major investment projects are monitored monthly throughout project duration by the implementing SNG unit.
PI-12 Public asset management
B
Notes:
PI-12.1 Financial asset monitoring
B
Notes:
The Pingjiang Government maintains records for its holdings in major categories of financial assets (including cash, term deposits, account receivables, leases, equity).
PI-12.2 Nonfinancial asset monitoring
C
Notes:
The Pingjiang Government maintains records for its holdings of fixed assets and collects partial information on their usage and age.
PI-12.3 Transparency of asset disposal
A
Notes:
Procedures and rules for the transfer or disposal of financial and non-financial assets are established.
Notes:
PI-13.1 Recording and reporting of debt and guarantees
C
Notes:
Domestic and foreign debt records are complete, accurate, updated monthly, and reconciled annually.
PI-13.2 Approval of debt and guarantees
A
Notes:
The Pingjiang Bureau of Finance is the responsible debt management entity and is authorized to borrow on behalf of the county government and monitor the debt transactions according to the debt management rules.
PI-13.3 Debt management strategy
D
Notes:
There is no mid-term DMS indicating the risk indicators such as interest rates and refinancing, and foreign currency risks.
IV. POLICY-BASED FISCAL STRATEGY AND BUDGETING
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
PI-14new Medium term budget strategy
D+
Notes:
PI-14new.1 Underlying forecasts for medium-term budget
B
Notes:
The budget was prepared based on information of transfers, revenue and expenditure, and some key demographic and macroeconomic indicators, but the referred data were not submitted to the legislature.
PI-14new.2 Fiscal impact of policy proposals
D
Notes:
No estimates about the fiscal impacts of policy changes have been conducted. The list of policy changes was not provided to the assessors.
PI-14new.3 Medium-term expenditure and revenue estimates
D
Notes:
No Medium-term expenditure and revenue estimates was conducted.
PI-14new.4 Consistency of budgets with previous year's estimates
NA
Notes:
No Medium-term expenditure and revenue estimates was conducted.
PI-14 Macroeconomic and fiscal forecasting
NU
Notes:
PI-14.1 Macroeconomic forecasts
NU
Notes:
PI-14.2 Fiscal forecasts
NU
Notes:
PI-14.3 Macro-fiscal sensitivity analysis
NU
Notes:
Notes:
PI-15.1 Fiscal impact of policy proposals
NU
Notes:
PI-15.2 Fiscal strategy adoption
NU
Notes:
PI-15.3 Reporting on fiscal outcomes
NU
Notes:
PI-16 Medium term perspective in expenditure budgeting
NU
Notes:
PI-16.1 Medium-term expenditure estimates
NU
Notes:
PI-16.2 Medium-term expenditure ceilings
NU
Notes:
PI-16.3 Alignment of strategic plans and medium-term budgets
NU
Notes:
PI-16.4 Consistency of budgets with previous year estimates
NU
Notes:
PI-17 Budget preparation process
B
Notes:
Notes:
Date of issuance of the 2019 budget circular was September 12, 2018. The deadline for submission of estimates was November 26, 2018. Eight weeks are provided to allow budgetary units to meaningfully complete their detailed estimates on time.
PI-17.2 Guidance on budget preparation
B
Notes:
This expenditure ceiling is provided on November, 19. 2018, after the circular’s distribution to budgetary units, but before budgetary units have completed their submission on November 26, 2018.
PI-17.3 Budget submission to the subnational council
D
Notes:
Only in one of the last three years, the executive has submitted the annual budget proposal to the legislature at least one month before the start of the FY.
PI-18 Legislative scrutiny of budgets
C+
Notes:
PI-18.1 Scope of budget scrutiny
B
Notes:
Budget scrutiny by the People’s Congress covers details of expenditure and revenue,, and fiscal policies, but not medium-term fiscal forecasts and medium-term priorities.
PI-18.2 Legislative procedures for budget scrutiny
A
Notes:
According to the 2014 Budget Law, procedures for reviewing budget proposals were approved by the People’s Congress in advance of budget hearings and were adhered to.
PI-18.3 Timing of budget approval
B
Notes:
In two of the last three FYs, the county legislature approved the annual budget proposal before the start of the FY, and the delay in the third year did not exceed one month.
PI-18.4 Rules for budget adjustments by the executive
C
Notes:
Clear rules about budget adjustments exist which were adhered to in some instances.
V. PREDICTABILITY AND CONTROL IN BUDGET EXECUTION
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
PI-19 Tax administration
NA
Notes:
PI-19.1 Rights and obligations for tax measures
NA
Notes:
PI-19.2 Property tax register and value assessment
NA
Notes:
PI-19.3 Tax risk management, audit and investigation
NA
Notes:
PI-19.4 Tax arrears monitoring
NA
Notes:
PI-20 Accounting for revenue
A
Notes:
PI-20.1 Information on revenue collections
A
Notes:
The Treasury Office of the Finance Bureau obtains revenue data from the departments responsible for collecting fiscal revenue (the Taxation Bureau and the Non-Tax Revenue Administration) and compiles a unified income completion statement every month.
PI-20.2 Transfer of revenue collections
A
Notes:
All tax revenues are transferred to the Treasury on a daily basis, while non-tax revenues are paid directly to the special accounts under the TSA system.
PI-20.3 Tax accounts reconciliation
NA
Notes:
Governments at county level are not authorized to administrate and collect taxes. The duty of tax revenue reconciliation is not applicable to Pingjiang County.
PI-21 Predictability of in-year resource allocation
D+
Notes:
PI-21.1 Consolidation of cash balances
C
Notes:
The Pingjiang Finance Bureau obtains a daily balance report from the Treasury, and the balances of special accounts are consolidated monthly.
PI-21.2 Cash forecasting and monitoring
D
Notes:
No evidence shows that the Pingjiang Finance Bureau has conducted cashflow forecasting and monitoring.
PI-21.3 Information on commitment ceilings
D
Notes:
Payment can be made within the approved budget. But originally approved budget expenditure accounts for less than one third of the actually executed expenditure.
PI-21.4 Significance of in-year budget adjustments
C
Notes:
Significant budget adjustments happened more than twice, but information on the process for each budget adjustment is not available.
PI-22 Expenditure arrears
D
Notes:
PI-22.1 Stock of expenditure arrears
D*
Notes:
Since Pingjiang County has not set up a monitoring system of expenditure arrears, data on stock of arrears is not available.
PI-22.2 Expenditure arrears monitoring
D
Notes:
There is no monitoring system for expenditure arrears in Pingjiang County.
Notes:
PI-23.1 Integration of payroll and personnel records
A
Notes:
The approved employee list, personnel database and payroll are all directly linked to each other through the IT system and updated on a real time basis, which constitutes an effective assurance for budget control, data consistency and automatic monthly reconciliation.
PI-23.2 Management of payroll changes
A
Notes:
Necessary changes to personnel records and payrolls are updated in real time.
PI-23.3 Internal control of payroll
A
Notes:
The authority to change personnel records and payrolls is restricted. The data of all budgetary units are linked via an internal network that is under the control and management of the Information Centre under the Finance Bureau, which is also responsible for conducting an audit trail.
Notes:
There is a strong payroll system, which can reveal control deficiencies and identify ‘ghost’ employees.
Notes:
PI-24.1 Procurement monitoring
D*
Notes:
The contract data for small contracts are not available, and there is no sound document to facilitate the assessment of this dimension.
PI-24.2 Procurement methods
D*
Notes:
Since the contract data for small contracts are not available, it is not feasible to calculate the total value of contracts awarded through competitive methods.
PI-24.3 Public access to procurement information
C
Notes:
Three out of six criteria are met.
PI-24.4 Procurement complaints management
A
Notes:
All six criteria are met.
PI-25 Internal controls on nonsalary expenditure
B
Notes:
PI-25.1 Segregation of duties
A
Notes:
Segregation of duties is prescribed throughout the whole budget execution process with responsibilities clearly defined for each stage.
PI-25.2 Effectiveness of expenditure commitment controls
D
Notes:
No effective expenditure commitment control system has been established.
PI-25.3 Compliance with payment rules and procedures
B
Notes:
Most (more than 75% but less than 90%) of the payments are in line with regular payment procedures, and all exceptions are authorized in advance.
Notes:
PI-26.1 Coverage of internal audit
A
Notes:
Internal audit is applied to the budgetary units that implement almost all of the budget expenditures and collects all of the budget revenues.
PI-26.2 Nature of audits and standards applied
B
Notes:
Internal audit activities focus on verifying the adequacy and effectiveness of internal control. Audit activities meet professional standards, including adopting the risk-based approach.
PI-26.3 Implementation of internal audits and reporting
A
Notes:
Each department with an internal audit unit prepares an annual audit work plan and a summary report for its annual audit work, which showsthe completion rate of the planned internal audit tasks. Five sampled budgetary units have fully completed their annual audit plans.
PI-26.4 Response to internal audits
A
Notes:
The management of five sampled departments proactively responded to the auditors’ suggestions disclosed in the audit report within 12 months after the audit report was issued.
VI. ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
PI-27 Financial data integrity
B+
Notes:
PI-27.1 Bank account reconciliation
B
Notes:
Reconciliation of all bank accounts is completed within 15 days after the end of each month.
PI-27.2 Suspense accounts
NA
Notes:
There is no suspense account.
PI-27.3 Advance accounts
NA
Notes:
There is no advance account.
PI-27.4 Financial data integrity processes
A
Notes:
All financial data are recorded in a computerized system which is managed by the Information Center housed in the Pingjiang FB and meets a high information security standard.
PI-28 In-year budget reports
B+
Notes:
PI-28.1 Coverage and comparability of reports
A
Notes:
There are monthly reports and quarterly analyses on budget execution. All revenues and expenditures including de-concentrated units within the SNG are included in the in-year budget reports.
PI-28.2 Timing of in-year budget reports
A
Notes:
There are monthly reports on budget execution released within ten days of the end of the reported period.
PI-28.3 Accuracy of in-year budget reports
B
Notes:
The in-year budget report data are largely consistent and useful for the analysis of budget execution.
PI-29 Annual financial reports
D+
Notes:
PI-29.1 Completeness of annual financial reports
C
Notes:
An annual budget execution report was prepared and is comparable with the approved budget.
PI-29.2 Submission of reports for external audit
A
Notes:
Budget execution reports were submitted to the County Audit Office within three months after the end of the FY.
PI-29.3 Accounting standards
D
Notes:
The budget execution reports were prepared in line with the national standards stipulated by MOF.
VII. EXTERNAL SCRUTINY AND AUDIT
Scores by Dimension
Overall Indicator Score
Notes:
Notes:
In the past three FYs, the expenditures not being audited by external auditors accounted for more than 60% of total expenditures.
PI-30.2 Submission of audit reports to the subnational council
B
Notes:
During the past three FYs, the Audit Office submitted the audit reports to the legislature within six months after receiving the financial reports.
PI-30.3 External audit follow-up
A
Notes:
The rectification reports show that in the last three FYs, required followup actions were taken by the related entities effectively and timely to respond to the issues disclosed by the auditors.
PI-30.4 Independence of the public audit institution in charge of subnational governments
B
Notes:
The Audit Law and related regulations provide concrete basis to secure the independence of the SAI.
PI-31 Legislative scrutiny of audit reports
B
Notes:
PI-31.1 Timing of audit report scrutiny
A
Notes:
The County Audit Office submitted the audit report to the Standing Committee of the County People's Congress for review on the first day of the Congress meeting, where it was presented and then discussed by the Committee.
PI-31.2 Hearings on audit findings
C
Notes:
An in-depth hearing was held on the main findings of the audit report once every year.
PI-31.3 Recommendations on audit by subnational council
A
Notes:
For three consecutive years, once receiving the follow-up reports from auditees, a summarized report was prepared by the Audit Office and submitted to the Standing Committee.
PI-31.4 Transparency of legislative scrutiny of audit reports
D
Notes:
Hearings on the audit reports were not open to the public. The audit reports for FY 2016, 2017 and 2018 were published on the government’s website.