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Do the data on municipal expenditures in the Czech Republic imply incorrectness in their management?

Abstract

Limited public resources confront public administration bodies with the question of how to handle them in an economically rational manner. Audit of public expenditures necessitates an ongoing creation and modification of an effective control system. Such a system is made up by subsystems of a formal (accounting and documentation) and economic control, responsible for monitoring the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of managing public expenditures. Significance of such interconnection rests in the fact that the formal control may signal possible improper management of public expenditures. This may become a stimulus for the economic control subsystem to verify the effectiveness, efficiency and economy of outlaid expenditures. For identification purposes related to potential accounting and record-keeping incorrectnesses in the management of public expenditures is proposed adoption of Benford’s Law (Benford’s test). Benford’s test is applied on municipal expenditure data for the year 2012. Data represent sums of public expenditures in the structure of the statement of budgetary execution and control specified by the Regulation of the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic No. 323/2002 Coll. For the data analysis there were used statistical methods, hypothesis testing, linear regressions and comparisons. Although the empirical analysis points at a limited use of Benford’s test in the conditions of municipal expenditures in the Czech Republic (mainly due to the instability of results and unavailability of suitable data), the analysis showed that Benford’s test can be adopted as a supporting tool, suitable for building into the control system of public expenditures. It is one of the ways to increase the effectiveness of a complex control of public expenditures.

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Do the data on municipal expenditures in the Czech Republic imply incorrectness in their management?

Author: Půček, Milan
Publisher: Technická Univerzita v Liberci
Year: 2016
Source: https://dspace.tul.cz/bitstreams/760932fc-b3ef-4119-839f-c2a2988c6dae/download
89
4, XIX, 2016
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DOI: 10.15240/ ul/001/2016-4-007
In oduc ion
By way o public budge s is in economically
de eloped coun ies edis ibu ed app oxima ely
one hal o he p oduced GDP. Acco ding o he
EUROSTAT da a (EUROSTAT, 2012), o al
go e nmen expendi u es in he EU coun ies
(EU-27) accoun ed in 2012 o 48.9 % o GDP,
o which expendi u es on he local go e nmen s’
le el accoun ed o 11.5% o GDP. In he Czech
Republic, hese expendi u es s ood in 2012
a 43.9% o GDP, while local go e nmen s’
spending accoun ed o 9.8% o GDP. A mo e
de ailed compa ison o he a io o o al public
expendi u es o GDP and expendi u es o local
go e nmen s o GDP b ings he ollowing able.
Dis ibu ion o public expendi u es be ween
cen al and local go e nmen s depends on
a ype o he model o i scal ede alism adop ed
in indi idual coun ies. Fo mos o he e iewed
coun ies, we may egis e a dec ease in public
expendi u es o local go e nmen s. The cause
could be a ibu ed o a d op in ax e enues due
o he economic c isis. Local go e nmen s, unlike
cen al go e nmen s, do no aim o s abilise he
economy using a i scal policy. Wi h espec o
he signi i can olume o alloca ed esou ces, i
is desi able o possess in o ma ion on how a e
hese incu ed expenses economically ea ed.
The p esen s a e o heo e ical e l ec ion is such
ha examina ion o municipal expendi u es is
usually o ien ed owa ds analysing municipal
expendi u es ela ed o a speci i c a ea, such
as e i ciency in p o ision o municipal se ices
(Pa el & Sičáko á-Bebla á, 2009), in con ac ing
DO THE DATA ON MUNICIPAL
EXPENDITURES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
IMPLY INCORRECTNESS IN THEIR
MANAGEMENT?
Milan Půček, Michal Plaček, F an išek Och ana
Coun y
2010 2011 2012
To al
go e nmen
Local
go e nmen
To al
go e nmen
Local
go e nmen
To al
go e nmen
Local
go e nmen
Czech Republic 43.0% 11.3% 42.5% 10.8% 43.8% 9.8%
Slo akia 42.0% 7.3% 40.6% 6.8% 40.2% 6.4%
Slo enia 49.2% 9.8% 49.8% 9.4% 48.1% 9.5%
Hunga y 49.7% 12.6% 49.9% 11.5% 48.7% 9.3%
Poland 45.9% 15.0% 43.9% 14.1% 42.9% 13.3%
Romania 39.6% 9.5% 39.2% 10.3% 36.4% 9.6%
Sou ce: Eu os a (2012)
Tab. 1: Compa ison o o al go e nmen expendi u es o GDP and expendi u es o local
go e nmen s o GDP in selec ed coun ies o Cen al Eu ope
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public se ices a a local le el (Nemec, Och ana,
& Šumpíko á, 2008), on analysis o municipal
i nances (Peko á, 2011) and hei indeb edness.
In addi ion o hese examina ions, u he ways
a e being sough wi h he aim o s eamline
ou lays o municipal expendi u es wi h
a possibili y o in oducing public adminis a ion
con olling (Š ando á, Mihaliko á, & Mi aťalo á,
2007) o inden i ying sui able ins i u ional o ms
(Bebla ý & Šičáko á-Bebla á, 2006) o o ms
o owne ship in he p o ision o se ices. A he
same ime, i appea s as necessa y o look o
ways o how o de ec possible inco ec ness in
he managemen o municipal expendi u es and
how o imp o e he public expendi u e con ol
sys em. Towa ds one o he possible ways poin s
also his s udy. Using Ben o d‘s es , i aims o
examine expendi u es o he Czech Republic’s
municipali ies eco ded in 2012, analyse
unco e ed esul s and o mula e conclusions
wi h espec o a mo e e ec i e ope a ion o he
con ol sys em o public expendi u es. As a
as ou knowledge based on analysis o expe
li e a u e goes, Ben o d’s es has no ye been
applied wi hin he ealm o con ol o public
expendi u es. The p esen ed s udy a emp s o
ca y ou such an analysis (on he example o
he Czech Republic’s municipal expendi u es
in 2012). The aim o his s udy is o explo e by
way o Ben o d’s es municipal expendi u es o
he Czech Republic ha we e unde aken wi hin
one e e ence yea and based on esul s o he
empi ical esea ch o ca y ou a discussion
on he gi en issue and o o mula e heo e ical
gene alisa ions and p ac ical ecommenda ions
o he domain o a con ol o public expendi u es.
C i e ion Type o con ol Subjec o con ol Moni o ed indica o Moni o ing ques ion
Con en ocus
Con en con ol Con ol o esul s (audi
o esul s, pe o mance audi )
Ag eemen be ween achie ed
esul s and speci i ed expendi u e
a ge s
How a e pe o mance indica o s
being me ? How a e me c i e ia
o economy, e i ciency and
e ec i eness?
Fo mal con ol Con ol o eceip s and legal
e iew o documen s
Compliance wi h he Ac on
Accoun ing and legal compliance
wi h expendi u e documen s
A e accoun s and expendi u e
documen s kep co ec ly om
a o mal aspec ?
Time aspec
P elimina y Ex an e con ol o planned
expendi u e ac i i ies
Choice o he mos app op ia e
alloca ion a ian o public
expendi u es
Has he chosen a ian
been economically he mos
app op ia e one?
Running
Con inuous moni o ing o
achie ed esul s and con ol
o eceip s and documen s
Con inuous moni o ing o mee ing
he p ede e mined indica o s
A e he p ede e mined
indica o s being me a e iew
ime poin s? Do expendi u e
ac i i ies co espond wi h o mal
equi emen s?
Subsequen and
concluding
Concluding con en and o mal
e iew o he unde aken
expendi u e ac i i y
Final con ol o he achie ed esul s
and he deg ee o compliance wi h
accoun ing and legal p ac ices
Do he i nal esul s co espond
wi h he planned objec i e? A e
all he o mal (accoun ing and
documen a ion) p ocedu es in
acco dance wi h he p inciples
o accoun ing and he legal code?
Ins i u ional
In e nal con ol
Con en , o mal, p elimina y,
unning and concluding
con ol by he ins i u ion i sel
Indica o s o he con en and o mal
con ol lis ed abo e, moni o ed by
an in e nal audi
Do he con olled indica o s
co espond wi h he no m
speci i ed by he Ac on Financial
Con ol and o he ele an legal
no ms?
Ex e nal con ol
Con en , o mal, unning and
concluding con ol ca ied
by an ex e nal independen
ins i u ion – in CZE se e ely
limi ed (by he Sup eme Audi
O i ce)
Indica o s o he con en and o mal
con ol as lis ed abo e, moni o ed
by an ex e nal audi
Do he con olled indica o s
co espond wi h he no m
speci i ed by he Ac on Financial
Con ol?
Sou ce: own based on Ac No. 320/2001 Coll., On Financial Con ol in Public Adminis a ion
Tab. 2: Gene al a chi ec u e o he con ol sys em o public expendi u es
(case o he Czech Republic)
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1. Theo e ical Founda ions o he
Resea ch
The s a ing poin o con ol o public
expendi u es is a duly e ec i e con ol sys em
o public spending. The issue o a con ol o
public expendi u es has al eady been s udied
wi hin expe li e a u e o se e al decades.
Au ho s usually de o e in de ail o a pa icula
aspec o a con ol o public expendi u es,
such as e.g. he issue o a i nancial con ol,
audi o public sec o o ganisa ions o p og am
e alua ion and pe o mance measu emen .
Wi hin coun ies o he o me Eas e n bloc
eme ges he issue o a con ol o public
expendi u es app oxima ely o he pas
en yea s (see e.g. Š ango á, Mihaliko á,
& Mi aľo á, 2007). Based on he analysis o
a discussion on he issue o a con ol o public
expendi u es wi hin expe li e a u e and he
exis ing con ol sys em o public expendi u es in
he Czech Republic, he sys em o a con ol o
public expendi u es may be cha ac e ised om
di e en pe spec i es, as shown in Table 2. The
able p o ides a syn hesis o iews on he issue
o a con ol o public expendi u es. As a s a ing
poin i akes he si ua ion as wi hin condi ions
o he Czech Republic speci i ed by he Ac No.
320/2001 Coll., On Financial Con ol in Public
Adminis a ion.
F om he con en pe spec i e, he con ol
sys em o public expendi u es ocuses bo h
on he economic aspec o spending ac i i ies
(moni o ing o he achie ed esul s) as well as
on he o mal (accoun ing and documen a ion)
e i i ca ion o he co ec ness o ca ied
expendi u e ac i i ies. F om he ime aspec ,
we dis inguish be ween p elimina y, unning
and i nal inspec ion. I may be di ec ed bo h
o he a ea o audi ing esul s o implemen ed
spending ac i i ies as well as on a o mal
e i i ca ion o he co ec ness (accoun ing and
documen a y) o he way hose expendi u e
ac i i ies a e eco ded. F om he ins i u ional
poin o iew, he con ol may be ca ied
ei he by he ins i u ion i sel (in e nal con ol)
o by an ex e nal ins i u ion. One p oblema ic
aspec , howe e , ep esen s he ac ha he
con ol sys em o municipal expendi u es
has unde he condi ions o he Czech
Republic i s weaknesses and limi a ions.
Municipal expendi u es (as opposed o cen al
go e nmen expendi u es) can no be checked
by he Sup eme Audi O i ce. On he pa o
he Sup eme Audi O i ce can be checked only
hose expendi u es ha local go e nmen s
de i e om he s a e budge . Wha is missing is
hus one o impo an independen in o ma ion
channels ha would se e a eedback on how
we e municipal expendi u es implemen ed.
Ano he p oblem poses he ac ha in he
p ac ice o con ol ac i i y, he e is es ablished
a ela i e sepa a ion o he con en con ol
om he o mal con ol. The consequence is
ha bo h ypes o con ols in ques ion do no
co-ope a e; espec i ely, hey a e o en
implemen ed sepa a ely (o independen ly).
Expendi u e con ols usually ei he in en ionally
ocus only on checking o economic esul s
ela ed o he unde aken expendi u es, o
concen a e pu ely on a e i i ca ion o he
o mal (accoun ing and documen a ion)
co ec ness o he ca ied ou lays. The ac ha
bo h ypes o con ol emain unlinked means
some aluable in o ma ion ge los o emain
po en ially unused while hey could lead o an
inc ease in e i ciency o he con ol sys em
o public expendi u es, exposu e o o mal
and ma e ial e o s in esou ce alloca ions
o possible auds and machina ions in he
managemen o public esou ces. The e o e, i
is desi able o seek ways o con ibu e o a mo e
e ec i e con ol o public spending and o
u ilise acqui ed in o ma ion in a comp ehensi e
moni o ing o expendi u e ac i i ies. One
o hese ways may ep esen signalling o
accoun ing and eco d-keeping i egula i ies in
expendi u e managemen ac i i ies, acqui ed
h ough a o mal con ol. This in o ma ion may
subsequen ly igge a con en con ol o e iew
he economic a ionali y (economy, e i ciency
and e ec i eness) o he ca ied expendi u es.
One o he ools ha a e ins umen al o acqui e
signalling in o ma ion on possible e o s in he
managemen o public expendi u es is he use
o Ben o d’s es .
Ben o d’s Law builds on he idea o he “ i s
digi law”, o mula ed in 1881 by an Ame ican
as onome Simon Newcomb in he a icle
en i led “No e on he F equency o Use o he
Di e en Digi s in Na u al Numbe s” published
in The Ame ican Jou nal o Ma hema ics. In his
a icle he holds ha he p obabili y o he i s digi
in a numbe being 1 is no 0.111 (1:9 = 0.1111)
as migh be expec ed, bu a he 0.301.
This p oposi ion was edisco e ed by F ank
Ben o d and o mula ed in de ail in he a icle
“The Law o Anomalous Numbe s” (Ben o d,
1938). Ben o d suppo ed his in es iga ion by
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an analysis o mo e han 20,000 da a samples.
Wi hin his analysis, F ank Ben o d sough o
u ilise he wides possible da a sou ces om
andom numbe s, s ee numbe s, lake su ace
a eas, popula ion da a, o s a is ics om he
Ame ican Baske ball League (Nig ini, 2011).
Ma hema ical applica ion o Ben o d’s Law
is deal wi h by Hill (1995a; 1995b; 1998) and
Be ge and Hill (2011). As undamen al may
be conside ed he ollowing heo em, based
on he Cen al Limi Theo em: “P o ided
he chosen dis ibu ion is a andom one and
p o ided om any such a dis ibu ion we pick
a andom sample, signi i can numbe s om
his dis ibu ion con e ge o he loga i hmic
dis ibu ion, alias Ben o d’s dis ibu ion”, as pu
by Hill (1998).
The p obabili y o an occu ence o he i s
digi D1 based on Ben o d’s dis ibu ion is:
(1)
The p obabili y o an occu ence o he
second digi D2 based on Ben o d’s dis ibu ion
is:
(2)
I we ex end ou analysis o he occu ence
o a numbe on he n- h posi ion, we make use
o he ollowing gene al o mula:
(3)
The i s applica ion o Ben o d’s Law in he
i eld o accoun ing was pe o med by Ca slaw
(1988) who claimed ha when he ne income o
a company is jus below a gi en psychological
le el i s manage s will end o ound his income
up. Fo example, i we ha e a ne income o
798,000 and 19.97 million, manage s will y o
ound hese numbe s o he amoun o 800,000
and 20 million, espec i ely. This ac i i y is
unde s andable due o he managemen
incen i e p og ams. Ca slaw claimed ha his
beha iou can be de ec ed using Ben o d’s Law,
i.e. wi hin he da a se he e will be a highe
occu ence o ze os in he second posi ion
and a lowe incidence o he numbe 9 in he
second posi ion when compa ed o Ben o d’s
dis ibu ion.
The esea ch o Ca slaw was ollowed by
Thomas (Nig ini & Mi e maie , 1997) who
examined ounding o ax losses in he USA. His
u he analysis ocused on Ea nings pe Sha e
(EPS), o which he numbe nine occu ed on
he las posi ion less equen ly han expec ed.
This esul ed in a claim ha Ea nings pe Sha e
a e ounded up while losses a e ounded
down. In 1993, Gup a and Ch is ian (Nig ini &
Mi e maie , 1997) analysed da a o axpaye s
epo ed in ax e u ns. The s udy ocused
on axpaye s wi h an income less han USD
100,000. P o ided a axpaye in his ca ego y
educes his income by a ew dolla s, he may
all in o a lowe ax a e b acke . The i ndings
unco e ed an income mis ep esen a ion by
axpaye s who anked on he bo de line o an
inc ease in hei ma ginal ax a e.
A signi i can shi in he heo y o Ben o d’s
Law applica ion in he domain o accoun ing
aud de ec ion is c edi ed o Nig ini (1993;
1996; 2011). Nig ini in his i s s udy (Nig ini,
1993) examined he i s and second digi
in in e es s paid and in e es s c edi ed on
a sample o abou 200,000 ax e u ns om
1985 o 1988. The esul was a bias owa ds
lowe numbe s o in e es s acc ued and highe
numbe s o in e es s paid. This esea ch was
ollowed by p ac ical case s udies o speci i c
companies, such as he es o i s digi s,
second digi s and i s wo digi s o in oices
issued by an oil company in o de o de ec
duplica es in documen s. Ano he applica ion
was an analysis o ounding in numbe s.
Examina ions by Nig ini a e summa ised
by Du shi, Hillison and Pacini in hei s udy
“The E ec i e Use o Ben o d’s Law o Assis in
De ec ing F aud in Accoun ing Da a” (Du schi,
Hillison, & Pacini, 2004) whe e hey also p o ide
a guide o he applica ion o Ben o d’s Law in
o ensic audi . Conclusions om he men ioned
sou ces can be summa ised in o he ollowing
o e iew able (Tab. 3).
Resul s o his gene alisa ion (see Tab. 3)
ela ed o condi ions and ins ances o he use
o Ben o d’s Law wi hin he domain o a o mal
con ol (in his case accoun ing) will be adop ed
as a basis o an empi ical analysis o agg ega e
da a on municipal public expendi u es in he
Czech Republic.
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N . Da a o he use o Ben o d’s Law
should sa is y he ollowing condi ions N . Ben o d’s law can be used o de ec he
ollowing da a manipula ions
1All da a in he da a se mus be eco ded in
he same uni 1
Rounding o economic pe o mance by
manage s, e.g. ounding o p o i om
789,000 o 800,000
2Da a mus no be limi ed by hei maximum
and minimum alue 2Upwa d ounding o ne income and EPS
(ea nings pe sha e)
3
Da a can no be numbe s used o
iden i i ca ion pu poses and hey a e no
gene a ed andomly
3 Downwa d ounding o losses
4 Da a should consis o a he small alues 4 Duplici y o i nancial i gu es, e.g. in oices
5 I is ad isable o ha e la ge da a se s 5 Wiping da a o
6Da a should no be in l uenced by
a psychology, e.g. p icing ending wi h 99 6Rew i ing i gu es
Sou ce: own based on Nig ini and Mi e maie (1997); TPA Ho wa h (2011)
S udy # 1 S udy # 2 S udy # 3
Name o
he s udy
On he Applica ion
o Ben o d’s Law
o In e na ional
Mac oeconomic S a is ics
Ben o d’s Law and
Mac oeconomic Da a
Quali y
Fac and Fic ion in EU
Go e nmen al Economics Da a
Yea o
publica ion
2007 2009 2011
Topic
Tes s o da a on he
de elopmen o GDP
in OECD coun ies and
A ica.
Mac oeconomic da a o 80
coun ies and compa ison
o esul s wi h an al e na i e
me hod o assessmen o
he mac oeconomic da a
quali y – he IMF‘s Da a
Assessmen F amewo k.
Na ional accoun s o he
EU MSs on da a ela ed o
compliance wi h he SGP:
(1) Go e nmen de i ci
and deb , (2) Go e nmen
e enue, expendi u es and
main agg ega es, (3) GDP,
(4) Balance shee , consolida ed
asse s and liabili ies.
Main
conclusions
(1) Mos o he da a
con e ged o Ben o d’s
dis ibu ion.
(2) Ben o d’s es may
se e as an indica o
o poo quali y and
manipula ions wi h da a.
(1) Da a o some coun ies
did no con e ge o Ben o d’s
dis ibu ion despi e he ac
ha hei s a is ical da a
we e on he basis o he IMF
anking ma ked as good
(Japan, Finland).
(2) Non-con o mi y wi h
he es may be caused
e.g. by s uc u al changes
in he economy, seasonal
adjus men s, e c.
(1) The la ges de ia ions om
Ben o d’s dis ibu ion indica ed
da a o G eece and Li huania
while he lowes de ia ion
eco ded da a o he Czech
Republic ( es ed o he i s
ime) and Poland.
(2) Ben o d’s es can be used
as a i s ins ance es ha may
indica e da a manipula ions.
Sou ce: own based on Nye and Moul (2007); Gonzales and Pas o (2009); Rauch e al. (2011)
Tab. 3: Te ms and examples o use o Ben o d’s Law in accoun ing
Tab. 4: Conclusions om he analysis o s udies applying Ben o d’s Law
on he con ol o mac oeconomic da a
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Wi hin he scope o Ben o d’s Law
applica ion on mac oeconomic da a, he e
we e published h ee majo s udies. In he i s
s udy “On he applica ion o Ben o d’s Law
o In e na ional Mac oeconomic S a is ics”
Nye and Moul (2007) ocus on es s o da a
ela ed o he de elopmen o GDP in OECD
membe s a es and A ica. In he second s udy
(“Ben o d’s Law and Mac oeconomic Da a
Quali y”), i s au ho s Gonzales and Pas o
(2009) ocus on es ing o mac oeconomic da a
collec ed om 80 coun ies while he esul s
we e compa ed wi h an al e na i e me hod o
assessmen o he mac oeconomic da a quali y,
he IMF’s Da a Assessmen F amewo k, based
on which a e compiled ankings o coun ies
acco ding o he quali y o s a is ical da a (Da a
Dissemina ion Repo s on he Obse ance
S anda ds and Codes). The las published
s udy (Rauch, Gö sche, B ähle , & Engel, 2011)
examined na ional accoun s o he EU membe
s a es on da a ela ed o he pe o mance o he
S abili y and G ow h Pac . The au ho s o med
a anking o coun ies based on he a e age
de ia ion o x2 es esul s. Compa ison o hese
s udies and hei conclusions a e summa ised
in Table 4.
Au ho s o all h ee s udies ag ee ha he
applica ion o Ben o d‘s es on mac oeconomic
da a may help o iden i y da a wi h a highe
p obabili y o da a manipula ion. A he
same ime, howe e , i is necessa y o ake
in o accoun also he cons ain s ha om
his adop ion a ise. These include p ima ily
e oneous esul s due o s uc u al changes in
he economy, adjus men s o seasonali y and
mac oeconomic ans o ma ions. Conclusions
o hese s udies a e ele an o in e p e ing
esul s o empi ical examina ions ha use
Ben o d’s Law.
In addi ion o he abo e-men ioned adop ion
wi hin he domain o accoun ing, audi ing and
analysis o mac oeconomic da a, applica ion
o Ben o d’s Law was also es ed in analysing
esul s o he elec ions in he USA (Decke ,
Myagko , & O deshook, 2011), in i scal ( ax)
con ol (Wa in, 2008), insu ance (Mahe
& Ake s, 2002) and also in e i ying c edibili y o
eg ession coe i cien s in scien i i c a icles, as
epo ed by Diekmann (2007), Diekmann and
Jann (2010) and Töd e (2009). In he li e a u e,
we we e unable o iden i y any applica ion o
Ben o d’s es on a lowe han mac oeconomic
le el, e.g. wi hin he domain o municipali ies.
This s udy, he e o e, likely s ands o be he i s
examina ion ha audi s municipal expendi u es
using Ben o d’s Law.
2. Resul s o he Empi ical Resea ch
The esea ch ocused on examina ion o da a
om municipali ies in he Czech Republic. To
be speci i c abou he gene al cha ac e is ics o
he objec o in es iga ion, le us obse e ha
as o Decembe 31, 2012, he e we e in o al
6,246 municipali ies in he Czech Republic wi h
10,503,477 inhabi an s, while in municipali ies
o e 2,000 inhabi an s he e li ed in o al
73.2% o he o e all popula ion. Managemen
o municipali ies is in he Czech Republic
go e ned by hei annual budge and he budge
ou look, as speci i ed by he Ac No. 250/2000
Coll., On Budge a y Rules o Regional Budge s.
Wi hin he esea ch, we ha e wo ked along he
lines o he binding classi i ca ion o municipal
budge s – he budge a y s uc u e, speci i ed
by he Regula ion o he Minis y o Finance
o he Czech Republic No. 323/2002 Coll.,
On Budge a y S uc u e. Desc ip ion o public
adminis a ion e o ms in he Czech Republic is
p o ided e.g. in (Špaček & Neshybo á, 2010).
Fo he pu poses o empi ical analysis we e
used agg ega e da a sou ced om he Minis y
o Finance o he Czech Republic. The da a
e e o he yea 2012 and ep esen sums
o public expendi u es in he s uc u e o he
s a emen o budge a y execu ion and con ol o
all municipali ies in he Czech Republic, di ided
in o ca ego ies acco ding o he popula ion (see
Tab. 5). Fo he da a analysis he e we e used
s a is ical me hods, hypo hesis es ing, linea
eg essions and compa isons. The aim was
o examine whe he agg ega e da a on public
expendi u es o municipali ies in he Czech
Republic con e ge o Ben o d’s dis ibu ion.
Fo his pu pose, municipali ies in he Czech
Republic we e di ided in o 12 ca ego ies
acco ding o he size o hei popula ion, as
shown in Table 5.
Agg ega ion o da a using he espec i e
size o municipali ies was chosen o wo
easons. The i s eason is he ac ha wi h
ega d o he o al numbe o municipali ies in he
Czech Republic (6,246 municipali ies), wi hin
his s udy i was no p ac icable o examine all
expendi u es o all municipali ies. The second
eason o op ing o an agg ega ion was he
ac ha size-ca ego ies o municipali ies allow
benchma king and he e o e make i possible o
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4, XIX, 2016
Finance
compa e he es esul s o a speci i c municipali y
wi h esul s o a pa icula municipali y size-
ca ego y. The aim was o es he hypo hesis
ha agg ega e da a on municipal expendi u es
con e ge o Ben o d‘s dis ibu ion.
Da a o he yea 2012, eques ed om he
Minis y o Finance o he Czech Republic, we e
s uc u ed based on sec ions o he sec o al
b eakdown, whe e each sec ion con ained all
i ems based on class b eakdown ha ha e o e
he pe iod epo ed some mo emen (i.e. a
leas one municipali y included in he espec i e
size-ca ego y has accoun ed o his i em). Un il
2012, epo ing o he public sec o in he Czech
Republic has been based on he so-called
Cash P inciple. This app oach di e s om
he p ac ice in Wes e n coun ies (e.g. Uni ed
Kingdom, Finland, Swi ze land) whe e a e pu
highe demands on he explana o y powe o
accoun ing s a emen s o he public sec o , as
shown by Sine o (2014), Lomb ano and Zanin
(2013) and Be gman (2012). T ansi ion om
cash-based accoun ing o he public sec o
owa ds acc ual accoun ing is one o he co e
ools o public i nancial managemen e o ms
in line wi h he philosophy o he New Public
Managemen (Hood, 1995).
Wi hin he i s pa o he empi ical analysis,
we ha e e i i ed on agg ega e da a whe he he
da a on municipal public expendi u es con e ge
o Ben o d’s dis ibu ion. The es c i e ion is
Mean Absolu e De iance (he eina e MAD),
calcula ed as ollows:
(4)
whe e:
AP – p opo ion o occu ence o indi idual
numbe s in he empi ical dis ibu ion,
EP – p opo ion o occu ence o indi idual
numbe s in Ben o d’s dis ibu ion,
K – numbe o digi s.
The ollowing Table 6 shows c i ical MAD
alues o empi ical da a, based on which we
can decide on he con o mi y wi h Ben o d’s
dis ibu ion – 3 deg ees o con o mance, he
ou h one o noncon o mi y. These alues
N .
Municipal size-ca-
ego y based on
popula ion
Numbe o
municipali-
ies
% numbe
o municipa-
li ies
To al popu-
la ion o he
ca ego y
% popula-
ion
A e age
popula ion
1 0-100 477 7.64% 34,406 0.33% 72
2 101-200 1,001 16.03% 149,812 1.43% 150
3 201-500 2,007 32.13% 656,988 6.25% 327
4 501-1,000 1,362 21.81% 960,870 9.15% 705
5 1,001-2,000 726 11.62% 1,016,461 9.68% 1,400
6 2,001-5,000 400 6.40% 1,215,137 11.57% 3,038
7 5,001-10,000 142 2.27% 971,336 9.25% 6,840
8 1,0001-20,000 68 1.09% 954,676 9.09% 14,039
9 20,001-50,000 42 0.67% 1,217,062 11.59% 28,978
10 50,001-100,000 16 0.26% 1,137,171 10.83% 71,073
11 100,001-1,000,000 4 0.06% 947,894 9.02% 236,974
12 1,000,001+ 1 0.02% 1,241,664 11.82% 1,241,664
To al 6,246 100.00% 10,503,477 100.00% 1,682
Sou ce: Da a on he numbe o municipali ies om he Czech S a is ical O i ce. Table and calcula ions by au ho s.
Tab. 5: Numbe o es ed da a in municipali y-size ca ego ies
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96 2016, XIX, 4
Finance
we e de i ed om empi ical s udies by Nig ini
(2011).
Resul s b oken down by municipal size-
ca ego ies a e lis ed in Table 7.
MAD alues a e also shown in he ollowing
cha . Resea ch esul s gi en in Table 7 and
Figu e 1 indica e ha he da a on public
expendi u es o municipali ies in he Czech
Republic con e ge o Ben o d’s dis ibu ion.
Eigh size-ca ego ies (including he Ci y o
P ague) eco ded he alue o MAD a he le el o
“close con o mi y” and h ee ca ego ies anked
as “accep able con o mi y”. La ge , bu s ill
accep able le el o de ia ion om loga i hmic
dis ibu ion eco ded only da a o he size-
ca ego y o municipali ies wi h a popula ion
om 100,001 o 1,000,000 inhabi an s (“lowe
con o mi y”). This g oup includes ou ci ies.
3. Applica ion o Ben o d’s Tes on
he Da a o Czech Ci ies o 2012
The hi d objec i e o he esea ch was o
conduc an empi ical analysis o municipal
expendi u es in 2012 and o analyse he esul s
/ d aw conclusions applicable o he con ol o
public expendi u es a he le el o municipali ies
o he Czech Republic. The es hypo hesis
was ha based on he analysis o con en and
s uc u e o he s a emen o execu ion and
con ol o ci y budge s, Ben o d’s es should
(mos likely) iden i y s a emen s o ci ies wi h
ypes o da a manipula ions and e o s such
as ew i ing numbe s, duplici ies, ounding o
numbe s, wiping o da a.
Gi en he speci i c na u e o he public sec o
and he cha ac e o epo ed s a emen s i
can be assumed ha Ben o d’s es should be
MAD alue Deg ee o con o mi y wi h Ben o d’s dis ibu ion
0.000-0.006 Close con o mi y
0.006-0.012 Accep able con o mi y
0.012-0.015 Lowe con o mi y
0.015 and mo e Noncon o mi y
Sou ce: Nig ini (2011)
Size-ca ego y based
on popula ion
Numbe o
es ed da a MAD alue O de based
on MAD Assessmen e dic
0-100 1,404 0.006941550 10 Accep able con o mi y
101-200 2,446 0.004812095 5 Close con o mi y
201-500 4,203 0.003228490 1 Close con o mi y
501-1,000 4,679 0.005652321 6 Close con o mi y
1,001-2,000 4,371 0.006520248 9 Accep able con o mi y
2,001-5,000 4,866 0.004004314 3 Close con o mi y
5,001-10,000 4,374 0.003456433 2 Close con o mi y
10,001-20,000 3,870 0.004362737 4 Close con o mi y
20,001-50,000 3,518 0.005951687 7 Close con o mi y
50,001-100,000 2,950 0.007030236 11 Accep able con o mi y
100,001-1,000,000 2,434 0.012114151 12 Lowe con o mi y
1,000,001 and mo e 2,365 0.005994241 8 Close con o mi y
Sou ce: own
Tab. 6: C i ical MAD alues o he i s numbe
Tab. 7: Resul s o Ben o d’s es applied o agg ega e da a on municipal public expen-
di u es in he Czech Republic acco ding o size-ca ego ies based on popula ion
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Finance
able o de ec in en ional shi s o expendi u es
be ween indi idual budge headings. This
ac i i y may be aimed a co e ing e.g.
adminis a i e misconduc s o b eaching he
budge a y discipline. Ano he mo i e may be an
a emp o mo e i ems be ween he ope a ing
and in es men pa s o he budge in an e o
o imp o e ope a ing esul s and hus mee he
e alua ion c i e ia o secu ing a bank loan.
Ano he mo i e may be o a pu ely poli ical
na u e, e.g. an a emp o co e up expenses o
legal and o he consul ing se ices (see i ndings
o he Sup eme Audi O i ce o he pe iod om
Augus o Sep embe 2013). The eason o such
a da a manipula ion is o “p o ec i sel ” om
a nega i e public eac ion owa ds expendi u es
ela ed o ou sou cing o legal and consul ing
se ices by public adminis a ion ins i u ions.
Fo u he es ing we e used da a om
all municipali ies in he Czech Republic wi h
a ci y s a us. In o al, analysed we e public
expendi u es in he s a emen o budge a y
execu ion and con ol o all 602 Czech ci ies o
he yea 2012.
On he empi ical da a was applied he
i s -le el es , i.e. o con e gence owa ds
Ben o d’s dis ibu ion was es ed he i s
numbe . This es is gene ally ega ded as he
mos in o ma i e one (Nig ini, 2011). When
analysing he con e gence o empi ical da a
owa ds Ben o d’s dis ibu ion, we can u ilise
p ima ily es s o goodness o i (Chi-squa e
es , Z- es , Kolmogo o -Smi no es ).
Howe e , hese es s a e a ec ed by he
numbe o da a eco ds (Nig ini, 2011) and a
lowe numbe s o eco ds hei alues may
be dis o ed. To a oid a possible dis o ion
o esul s due o a low numbe o eco ds,
we ha e used as a es c i e ion he alue o
Mean Absolu e De ia ion. The esul s o Mean
Absolu e De ia ion, howe e , co ela e wi h he
esul s o es s o goodness o i .
Based on p e ious i ndings, we ha e applied
Ben o d’s es on s a emen s o budge a y
Fig. 1: MAD alues o indi idual municipal ca ego ies
Sou ce: own
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