<![CDATA[Budget absorption remains a persistent problem in Indonesian local governments, where spending tends to accumulate in the final quarter and weakens the developmental and economic role of the regional budget. This study examines the effect of budget planning, budget implementation, human resource competence, and procurement of goods and services on budget absorption in the Pontianak City Government. A quantitative explanatory design was applied using an online questionnaire completed by 81 budget managers, such as commitment-making officials, treasurers, and planners, from regional work units (OPD) of Pontianak City. Data were analysed with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and 5,000 bootstrap subsamples. The measurement model met the criteria for convergent validity, internal consistency reliability, and discriminant validity. The structural model explained 64.4% of the variance in budget absorption (R² = 0.644) and showed medium predictive relevance (Q²predict = 0.387). Budget implementation had a positive and significant effect on budget absorption (β = 0.356; p = 0.003), and procurement of goods and services also had a positive and significant effect (β = 0.358; p = 0.031). In contrast, budget planning (β = −0.018; p = 0.564) and human resource competence (β = 0.169; p = 0.160) had no significant effect. These findings suggest that, in a city government whose planning documents and staff capacity are already relatively uniform, absorption is decided mainly by execution discipline and procurement timeliness. Local governments should therefore strengthen monitoring of implementation schedules, accelerate disbursement processes, and announce procurement plans early in the fiscal year.]]>
