European Financial and Accounting Journal, 2011 (vol. 6), issue 2
Introduction
Unlimited Possibilities for Fiscal Transparency Improvement
Lucie Sedmihardská
European Financial and Accounting Journal 2011, 6(2):4-7 | DOI: 10.18267/j.efaj.30 
Dear readers, this special issue of the European Financial and Accounting Journal is a result of a joint initiative of the Faculty of Finance and Accounting at University of Economics, Prague and the Network of Institutes and Schools of Public Administration in Central and Eastern Europe (NISPAcee). The papers included in this volume were selected from the papers prepared in the framework of the NISPAcee Working Group on Fiscal Policy and presented in May 2011 at the 19th NISPAcee Annual Conference. NISPAcee is a non-government, non-profit, international membership organization. It was established in 1994 with the aim to serve as a clearinghouse for...
Articles
Fiscal Consolidation and the New Flat Rate Individual Income Tax in Hungary
Mihály Higye
European Financial and Accounting Journal 2011, 6(2):8-27 | DOI: 10.18267/j.efaj.31
In the last two years the Hungarian people have witnessed several new measures in government's fiscal policy. To respond to global crisis that hit Hungary hard, the Bajnai government enacted a series of economic reforms and spending cuts in 2009. The Orban government elected in 2010 launched economic programs designed to promote growth by reducing administrative burdens on businesses and lowering the tax burdens on small businesses. The plan also includes strict control of budgetary expenditures, and a "crises-tax" on different sectors which would remain in effect for minimum 2 years. One of the most popular plans seems to be the launch of a "flat-rate"...
M&E and Budget Program Performance Measurement in Ukraine: Current State and Needs for Improvement
Sergii Slukhai
European Financial and Accounting Journal 2011, 6(2):28-47 | DOI: 10.18267/j.efaj.32
The key elements of a performance-based budgeting methodology have already become a part of the mechanism for public expenditure management in Ukraine. At the same time, there still remains the issue of linking budget expenditures to specific results achieved by specific budget programs which defines the necessity of applying modern approaches to carrying out M&E. This study presents an analysis of the current state of M&E in Ukrainian public expenditure program management and offers some solutions which could improve its functioning. The analysis has revealed the absence of rigorous selection of performance indicators to evaluate budget program...
Labour Taxation and Personnel Expenditure in the Romanian Public Sector
Maria-Andrada Georgescu, Dana Mihaela Murgescu
European Financial and Accounting Journal 2011, 6(2):48-71 | DOI: 10.18267/j.efaj.33
The global economic crisis, which had a strong impact on virtually all states of the world, brought additional challenges to the public sector. The governments had to choose between two alternatives: to decrease public expenditure by adopting austerity measures (option chosen by most EU Member States) or to increase public investments, in an attempt to stimulate economic growth (alternative preferred and supported by the US and Great Britain). The paper at hand aims to analyze the public expenditure policy in Romania, as a result of the economic conditions imposed by the crisis, with a focus on the relationship between the incomes collected from taxes...
Municipal Bond Boom in Hungary: Focusing on the Analysis of Local Financial Management
Gábor Kovács
European Financial and Accounting Journal 2011, 6(2):72-92 | DOI: 10.18267/j.efaj.34
The drastic increase in volume of local government debt in Hungary started in 2006. My hypothesis assumes that a supposable improvement in local municipal financial management might resulted in the spread of bond issue, which in Hungary is still considered innovative. The paper is aimed at examining factors that might have been behind indebtedness, and tries to separate the effect of internal and external factors. Under the notion "internal factors" I mean whether potential issuers are adequately informed, professionally trained and motivated. Another aim of the research is to survey local governments' attitude towards bond financing as well, that...