2013年12月10日学术报告通知.docx

INTEGRATING GOVERNMENT’S FISCAL BUDGETING, ACCOUNTING AND STATISTICS: GREAT BENEFITS AND FORMIDABLE CHALLENGES A Seminar by James L. CHAN* and YANG Quanshe** 陈立齐，杨全社 Government responses to recent financial crises have imposed heavy burdens on the public finances of many countries, and exposed the weak links among the sources of fiscal information: budgets, accounts and finance statistics. In order to better understand the causes and effects of financial crises – as well as to predict them early and manage them effectively – the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently proposed a standard on fiscal forecasting and endorsed the development of common standards for these three types of public fiscal reporting in its comprehensive effort to further improve fiscal transparency around the world. We will assess the IMF initiative in terms of its benefits and costs. Whereas the claimed benefits are long-term and intangible, the immediate and financial costs of the proposed alignment of the three systems pose considerable challenge to the acceptance and implementation of the proposal. We will explore its likely implications for Chinese policies and practices in view of current status of China’s government budgeting, accounting and statistical systems. Furthermore, fiscal budgeting, accounting and statistics are usually overseen by different government offices and operated by professionals trained in different disciplines. We therefore will discuss the implications of the proposal for education and the need for interdisciplinary research. * James L. Chan （陈立齐）, Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is Distinguished Overseas Professor at Peking University and Shandong University of Finance and Economics, as well as Professor by Special Appointment at the Research Institute of Fiscal Science, Ministry of Finance, China. ** Yang Quanshe （杨全社） is Professor of Public Finance and Acting Director of the School of International Studies at Capital University of Business and Economics, Beijing. Related readings: Jens HEILING, Sabine SCHUHRER and James L. CHAN, “Toward a Grand Convergence? – International Proposals for Aligning Government Budgets, Accounts and Finance Statistics," Public Money and Management (July, 2013). James L. CHAN, YANG Quanshe, Jens HEILING, Sabine SCHUHRER, “International Proposals for Aligning Government Budgets, Accounts and Finance Statistics: Implications for Chinese Practices” (Working Paper, May 2013).