CBS Government & Public Sector Budgeting Flashcards

Which basis of accounting is most commonly used in U.S. federal government budgeting?

Answer: Cash basis

The U.S. federal budget is prepared on a cash (budget authority/outlays) basis, though agencies also produce accrual-based financial statements.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is primarily responsible for:

Answer: Conducting audits and investigations on behalf of Congress to ensure accountability

The GAO is an independent congressional watchdog that audits federal programs and agencies to assess efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance.

In public sector budgeting, an 'appropriation' is best defined as:

Answer: A statutory authorization by Congress permitting agencies to obligate and spend funds

An appropriation is a legal authorization enacted by Congress that allows a federal agency to incur obligations and make payments from the Treasury.

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) requires managers to:

Answer: Justify every budget dollar from scratch each year rather than from a prior-year baseline

ZBB starts from a zero base each cycle and requires all programs to justify their existence and resource needs, eliminating automatic baseline increases.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) plays which primary role in the federal budget process?

Answer: Coordinating agency budget requests and preparing the President's budget submission to Congress

OMB assists the President in preparing the budget, oversees agency budget formulation, and monitors execution of approved spending plans.

A continuing resolution (CR) in U.S. government budgeting is enacted when:

Answer: Regular appropriations bills have not been passed by the start of the new fiscal year

A CR allows government operations to continue at prior-year funding levels when Congress has not completed action on regular appropriations bills before October 1.