Rezago presupuestal: la cuenta paralela que presiona la caja del Gobierno sin verse en el Presupuesto Nacional
El rezago presupuestal se mantiene como un punto de presión a las cuentas del Estado. Foto: Imagen generada con Inteligencia Artificial - ChatGPT
TL;DR
- Colombia operates with two budgets simultaneously: the current year's and a backlog of inherited commitments from previous years.
- This backlog, termed 'rezago,' consists of 'reservas presupuestales' (budgetary reserves) and 'cuentas por pagar' (accounts payable).
- Budgetary reserves are commitments made within a fiscal year but not yet payable, while accounts payable are expenses ready for payment but not disbursed in the same year.
- Since 2008, budgetary reserves have been excluded from fiscal balance calculations, creating a discrepancy between budgetary and fiscal reporting.
- This exclusion leads to opacity, as a portion of committed spending exists but is not reflected as a formal accounting obligation.
- The report recommends adopting full accrual accounting standards to align budgets with fiscal accounts and improve consistency with public and national accounting.
- In 2024, 27% of reserves generated in 2023 were lost, indicating that not all commitments materialize into executed or paid expenses.
- The fiscal deficit for the National Central Government was estimated at -5.3% of GDP in 2022, -4.2% in 2023, and -6.7% in 2024.