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Economic Governance
What is a budget cycle?
The budget cycle is made up of the major events or stages in making decisions about the budget, and implementing and assessing those decisions. The specific characteristics of the budget cycle differ from country to country. Nonetheless, in most countries, the budget cycle is likely to have four stages:

Stage 1	Budget formulation	The budget plan is put together by the executive branch of government.
Stage 2	Budget enactment	The budget plan may be debated, altered, and approved by the legislative branch of government
Stage 3	Budget execution	The policies of the budget are carried out by the government.
Stage 4	Budget auditing and assessment	The actual expenditures of the budget are accounted for and assessed for effectiveness.