Budget Cycle

Synonyms

Accounting and auditing; Budget cycle; Budget preparation; Executive implementation; Legislative approval

Definition

The budgeting cycle involves a system of checks and balances between both the executive and legislative branches of the governments (Bland 2013).

Introduction

In terms of budgeting within governmental entities, the one aspect of budgeting that is almost identical among all institutes is the budget cycle. By definition, the budgeting cycle involves a system of checks and balances between both the executive and legislative branches of the governments (Bland 2013), the executive branch who proposes expenditures and the legislative branch who empowers the executive branch to enter into these financial commitments (Bland 2013). The cycle requires the council verifying the executive’s compliance with the proposed obligations.

While there might be some slight differences at each phase of the budget cycle between different jurisdictions and levels of governments, most...