<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>An essential condition for asserting responsibility in public finances is that they are open and transparent. The Public Finance Act mentions ways of applying the principles of openness, and also stipulates the entities obliged to present data and information on public finances. There is, however, no legislation connected directly with transparency. So do the general requirements of classification and of accountancy and reporting principles constitute sufficient premises for accountability and asserting responsibility? An analysis of the reports and documents concerning the Polish public finance sector indicates that the processes of collecting and spending public funds are insufficiently transparent. The information system enables formal verification of discipline of public finances; however, it does not provide a sufficient basis to assess the effectiveness and efficiency, which are of key importance in terms of accountability. The aim of the article is to analyse the requirements and standards in the field of openness and transparency insofar as these concern the responsibility and accountability of public authorities, along with elements of how these are assessed in the Polish public finance system. A normative descriptive method was applied which took into consideration elements of finance theory, as well as an analysis of practical experience in the field of how public sector bodies function in Poland. The research objectives are realised mainly on the basis of a critical review of the literature on the subject, and an analysis of legal acts, reports and other documents of domestic and international institutions. The considerations and analyzes have led to several key applications to develop the principles of openness and transparency in relation to improving the accountability of public finances.</p></abstract>

An essential condition for asserting responsibility in public finances is that they are open and transparent. The Public Finance Act mentions ways of applying the principles of openness, and also stipulates the entities obliged to present data and information on public finances. There is, however, no legislation connected directly with transparency. So do the general requirements of classification and of accountancy and reporting principles constitute sufficient premises for accountability and asserting responsibility? An analysis of the reports and documents concerning the Polish public finance sector indicates that the processes of collecting and spending public funds are insufficiently transparent. The information system enables formal verification of discipline of public finances; however, it does not provide a sufficient basis to assess the effectiveness and efficiency, which are of key importance in terms of accountability. The aim of the article is to analyse the requirements and standards in the field of openness and transparency insofar as these concern the responsibility and accountability of public authorities, along with elements of how these are assessed in the Polish public finance system. A normative descriptive method was applied which took into consideration elements of finance theory, as well as an analysis of practical experience in the field of how public sector bodies function in Poland. The research objectives are realised mainly on the basis of a critical review of the literature on the subject, and an analysis of legal acts, reports and other documents of domestic and international institutions. The considerations and analyzes have led to several key applications to develop the principles of openness and transparency in relation to improving the accountability of public finances.

The Significance of Openness and Transparency for Accountability in Public Finances

Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin

Financial Internet Quarterly

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

An essential condition for asserting responsibility in public finances is that they are open and transparent. The Public Finance Act mentions ways of applying...

The Significance of Openness and Transparency for Accountability in Public Finances

Published Online: Feb 14, 2019

Page range: 58 - 66

Received: Mar 01, 2018

Accepted: Jun 30, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fiqf-2018-0012

Keywords
public finance, openness, transparency, accountability

© 2018 Jolanta Szołno-Koguc, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The Significance of Openness and Transparency for Accountability in Public Finances

Published Online: Feb 14, 2019

Page range: 58 - 66

Received: Mar 01, 2018

Accepted: Jun 30, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fiqf-2018-0012

Keywordspublic finance, openness, transparency, accountability

© 2018 Jolanta Szołno-Koguc, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
public finance, openness, transparency, accountability