## Iceland: Technical Assistance Report on a New Organic Budget Law

_IMF Staff Country Reports, January 12, 2012_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Iceland: Technical Assistance Report on a New Organic Budget Law](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2016/12/31/iceland-technical-assistance-report-on-a-new-organic-budget-law-25529)

## Other formats

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: January 12, 2012
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781463932480.002

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### Executive summary and findings
- The report focuses on designing a new organic budget law (OBL) for Iceland.
- Important to preserve good features of Iceland’s current legal framework for budgeting.
- Key weaknesses in the Financial Reporting Act 1997 prevent it from providing a credible, integrated framework for budgeting.
- The institutional coverage of the OBL should be expanded to encompass the whole public sector.
- The OBL should incorporate an integrated timetable for the entire budget process.

### Policy recommendations
- Preserve effective elements of the existing budgeting legal framework while reforming identified weaknesses.
- Amend or replace provisions in the Financial Reporting Act 1997 that impede a credible, integrated budgeting framework.
- Expand institutional coverage of the OBL to include the whole public sector to ensure comprehensive fiscal governance.
- Adopt an integrated timetable that covers the entire budget process to improve coherence and predictability.

### Scope and thematic focus
- Subject areas covered: Budget planning and preparation; Expenditure; Financial statements; Fiscal law; Fiscal policy; Public financial management (PFM).
- Keywords included: annual budget; balance sheet; Budget planning and preparation; budget year; central government; Financial statements; Fiscal law; Medium-term Fiscal Strategy; net lending; operating statement; permanent secretary.

### Document metadata (as presented on the landing page)
- Date listed: January 12, 2012
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- Short abstract: Technical assistance report on a new OBL emphasizing preservation of good features, addressing weaknesses in the Financial Reporting Act 1997, expanding institutional coverage to the whole public sector, and incorporating an integrated budget timetable.

*International Monetary Fund. "Iceland: Technical Assistance Report on a New Organic Budget Law", January 12, 2012.*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2016/12/31/iceland-technical-assistance-report-on-a-new-organic-budget-law-25529_