The Process of Budget Preparation and Its Impact on Managing Work Processes in Government Institutions

Abstract

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the impact of the budget preparation process on the efficiency of Business Process Management (BPM) in the government institutions of the Kurdistan Region, drawing on data from the 2025 budget review report. To achieve this objective, a quantitative descriptive-analytical model was employed, and data were gathered through questionnaires, expert interviews, and focus groups.Statistical results clearly confirm that the budget preparation process (through clear guidelines and data provisioning) has a significant positive impact on Business Process Management ($R^2 = 0.427$, $p < 0.001$). Furthermore, the mediation model analysis revealed that the principle of "Value for Money" (VFM) strongly and positively mediates the relationship between budget preparation and process efficiency, increasing the overall coefficient of determination to $R^2 = 0.694$.Despite this positive impact, the findings highlight several fundamental obstacles. These include an over-reliance on a centralized top-down model, a lack of genuine bottom-up participation from administrative units, and a deficiency in specialized training courses for employees (mean score of 2.41), which slows down the transition toward a performance-based budgeting system. The study concludes by presenting several recommendations for decision-makers to implement radical reforms in the financial and administrative systems, and to modernize business processes in order to enhance service quality and reduce bureaucracy in the region.