Expenditure execution rate from Rb-28S

Published: 12.09.2026 Updated: 08.11.2026 About 6 minutes to read

A calculator, navy binder and sheet with two columns on a desk — Comparing planned and actual expenditure.

You are comparing spending by two Polish municipalities for a public administration thesis. The budget resolution shows the initial plan, the Rb-28S report shows the revised plan, and a corrected report appears alongside it in the Public Information Bulletin (BIP). Which figures should you use to calculate the percentage and make the result reproducible?

Divide reported expenditure by the revised budget plan and multiply by 100. Take both amounts from the same report, period and classification row. If the revised plan is zero, the rate is undefined. Show the amounts and mark the percentage as unavailable.

The example concerns data analysis in Public administration. If you are still selecting documents, start with Bachelor's and master's thesis in public administration – analysing office documents.

Choose the version of the annual Rb-28S report

Rb-28S is the expenditure execution report for a local government budgetary unit or local government authority. The form and instructions explain the columns. FinanseJST lets you search reports and look up budget classification codes. If you use the BIP, also keep the publication page for each file.

Match the reporting period and level. To compare municipalities, use aggregate annual reports for the same year and the same classification. Check the header and which entity the report covers. Poland's Ministry of Finance publishes separate datasets for the end of the fourth quarter and for December. A month in the file name alone cannot identify an annual report.
Identify the version. If a corrected version exists for the same year, entity and report, check its label and sequence. When describing final expenditure, use the latest confirmed version available at your cut-off date. Record the entity, year, file name, version number or date, publication location and download date. If conflicting files have unclear origins, record the discrepancy before comparing them.
Use the same row. For a whole division, use its total row (Razem dział) if present, or add the relevant detail rows once. When working at chapter level, check the division code too. Take reported expenditure (Wydatki wykonane) and the revised plan (Plan (po zmianach)) from the same row. Commitments and liabilities have separate columns. Use the same unit for both figures, for example PLN.

Worked example: division 926 in two municipalities

The figures are fictional. We compare division 926 (Physical culture) in two aggregate annual reports for 2025. For municipality A we use confirmed correction No. 1. For municipality B we use the original version available. In both cases we take the division total.

Municipality A. The initial plan was PLN 800,000. In the corrected report, the revised plan is PLN 1,200,000 and reported expenditure is PLN 960,000. Calculation: 960,000 ÷ 1,200,000 × 100 = 80%. Dividing by the initial plan would give 120% and would answer a different question.
Municipality B. The revised plan is PLN 1,000,000 and reported expenditure is PLN 900,000. Calculation: 900,000 ÷ 1,000,000 × 100 = 90%.
Comparison. Municipality A reported PLN 60,000 more in expenditure. It executed 10 percentage points less of its revised plan than municipality B.

For a combined rate, divide total expenditure by the total revised plans: 1,860,000 ÷ 2,200,000 × 100 ≈ 84.5%. The average of 80% and 90% is 85%, which describes the mean rate for two equally weighted municipalities. The plans differ in size, so the two calculations answer different questions.

Explain what the execution rate tells you

The rate expresses reported expenditure relative to the revised plan. Annual reported expenditure may include non-expiring expenditure. The rate alone cannot isolate payments made within that year. If you get 80%, explain which plan you used and what spending the numerator covers. The rate alone cannot tell you whether the municipality saved money, postponed a project or encountered problems. An explanation needs evidence connecting the gap to an event, such as notes accompanying the report or project records. If the municipalities fund different activities under the same code, describe the comparison as one of division totals. To assess a specific activity, isolate comparable spending where the documents permit it.

A sample results paragraph

Keep the method and the result separate. In the methodology, record the year, entities, classification level, version selection and formula. In the results, show the amounts and how they relate. A paragraph using the fictional data could read:

In division 926, municipality A reported PLN 960,000 in expenditure against a revised plan of PLN 1,200,000 (80%). Municipality B reported PLN 900,000 against a plan of PLN 1,000,000 (90%). Municipality A reported PLN 60,000 more in expenditure, while its execution rate was 10 percentage points lower. The comparison used aggregate annual Rb-28S reports for 2025, including correction No. 1 for municipality A.

Record missing values too. If a figure is unavailable, mark it as missing. Zero expenditure against a positive plan gives 0%. For a rate over 100%, check the file version, row, unit and denominator. Keep full precision in your spreadsheet and round only when presenting the results.

Check the figures before submitting

Do both files cover the same year and reporting level?
Did you record the version and source cut-off date, including any correction?
Do the numerator and denominator come from the same row and use the same unit?
Have you distinguished amounts, percentages and differences in percentage points?

Questions about documents and the period of analysis

Can a public administration thesis be based on documents from the BIP without a survey?

Yes, if the document analysis fits the topic and the supervisor's or university's guidelines. The thesis objective, selection criteria, period, and method of analysis are important. Send the topic, plan, and any available resolutions, regulations, activity reports, or other reports. I will help organise the research design and clarify the role of each source.

Why must a public administration thesis specify the period covered by the analysis?

Regulations, institutional tasks, and organisational documents can change. Defining the period helps establish which versions of sources relate to the described situation. Please send the date or year range adopted in the thesis, source materials, and the supervisor's guidelines. I will help organise the citations and indicate places where the date or document version needs clarification.

Official sources

Rozporządzenie Ministra Finansów z dnia 29 stycznia 2025 r. w sprawie sprawozdawczości budżetowej (Dz.U. z 2025 r. poz. 133), załącznik nr 19 (wzór Rb-28S) oraz załącznik nr 38, rozdział 4, § 8 i § 9 (instrukcja). https://www.dziennikustaw.gov.pl/D2025000013301.pdf
Ministerstwo Finansów, FinanseJST (BeSTia), Wyszukiwarka sprawozdań oraz Słowniki klasyfikacji budżetowej. https://finansejst.mf.gov.pl/
Ministerstwo Finansów, Bazy danych, wydatki po IV kwartałach 2025 r. i wydatki za grudzień 2025 r. https://www.gov.pl/web/finanse/bazy-danych8

Prepare results your reader can check

Tell us which municipalities, years and budget lines you want to compare. Include the reports or a summary of the amounts and your university's requirements. We can agree on the calculations and results write-up you need.

Analysis and presentation of research results for your thesis Thesis research section: methodology, results and discussion

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