No abstract

The problem of improving the quality of state and municipal finance management is very urgent at the present time. The purpose of the study is an attempt to substantiate the need to improve the methodology for assessing the quality of municipal finance management. One of the tasks is to test the hypothesis: municipalities with the population involved in the processes of initiative budgeting are most efficient in managing municipal finances. The object of the study is the municipalities of the Transbaikal region. In the course of the study, an analysis of the regional legal acts concerning the assessment of the quality of municipal finance management was carried out, as well as an analysis of this assessment in the context of some municipalities (urban districts) of the Transbaikal region. The analysis showed that the methodology for assessing the quality of municipal finance management in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation is based on indicators characterizing the state of municipal finance and does not fully cover indicators of the quality of local authorities’ management decisions. The analysis also revealed a correlation relationship between the financial management quality of the municipal entity of the Transbaikal region and the degree of population involvement in the budget process. The article concludes that it is necessary to improve the existing methodology for assessing the quality of municipal finance management. The method based on 3 groups of indicators - the state of municipal finances, the level of municipal programs (national projects) implementation, the quality of municipal finance management is proposed. In order to improve financial discipline and transparency of the budgetary process, the author proposes to introduce a pilot project to develop initiative budgeting in municipalities