Budget Absorption Phenomena: Evidence from Education Quality Assurance Institutions

From the perspective of public sector organizations, budget absorption is the disbursement or realization of the budget from listed programs and activities presented in the Budget Realization Report for a certain period. Understanding the budgeting process in the public sector can explain the factors related to budget absorption. This study analyzes the factors that influence the performance of budget absorption at the Education Quality Assurance Institutions in Indonesia, with organizational commitment as a moderating variable. The moderated regression analysis was used to determine influential factors on budget absorption. This study uses primary data from all sample institutions, namely the Education Quality Assurance Institutions, in Indonesia. The survey was conducted by emailing questionnaires electronically (Google form) to the research object’s work unit. From 34 working units, 170 respondents met the established criteria, and all returned the questionnaire. The results showed that budget planning and human resource competence positively affect budget absorption performance. Organizational commitment strengthens the influence of budget planning and human resource competence on budget absorption performance. The study implies that to optimize budget absorption, the institutions must improve the quality of human resources and do well budget planning accompanied by solid organizational commitment. Optimal budget absorption will swirl the national economy. This study contributes to budget absorption literature by providing insight into how human resources competence, good budget planning, and organizational commitment affect budget absorption in Indonesia’s Education Quality Assurance Institutions.