Content area
Analyzing budget accuracy at Brazilian federal universities is essential to identify the specific challenges these institutions face and develop strategies to improve financial management. Furthermore, transparency in resource allocation and accountability are crucial to ensure that public resources are used effectively to promote teaching, research and extension. In this sense, the present study aims to evaluate the relationship between budgetary precision and the efficiency of teaching, research and extension of Brazilian Federal Higher Education Institutions (IFES). The thesis statement argues that budgetary precision positively influences the efficiency of the activities of the university triad of these institutions, as it allows institutions to have an adequate forecast of their financial resources and to plan their activities more efficiently. The study was based on the Theory of Public Choices (TEP) to investigate the budget planning and execution process in public universities. According to TEP, public budget spending is flexible and subject to the decisions of public managers. For this research, budgetary precision data and teaching, research and extension variables were collected and analyzed for the period between 2017 and 2021. These data were synthesized using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) multi-criteria method. and based on the results obtained, linear regression analysis was applied. The results showed a positive relationship between budgetary precision and teaching and research activities, but there was no significant relationship with the extension dimension alone. However, when analyzing teaching and research, the general objective of the research was met and a positive relationship was observed. Thus, the extension dimension plays an important role when considered together with the other dimensions. This highlights the importance of approaching the university missions of teaching, research and extension in an integrated and holistic way, reflecting the inseparability of these dimensions. Therefore, this study highlights the contribution of precise budgetary precision to IFES, suggesting ways to improve the efficiency and quality of teaching, research and extension, in addition to contributing to the advancement of academic knowledge by suggesting improvements in the financial management of higher education institutions.