This study aims to empirically identify and prioritize the context-specific challenges that impede the effective implementation of operational budgeting in the executive organs of Iran, as an emerging economy marked by structural complexities, economic sanctions, and high policy uncertainty. A researcher-designed questionnaire was developed based on an extensive literature review and validated by a panel of academic experts. The instrument comprised 22 items measuring four key constructs: achievement of operational budgeting goals, environmental barriers, technical-process barriers, and human barriers, using a five-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using one-sample t-tests and non-parametric Friedman ranking tests. The findings reveal that operational budgeting has not achieved its desired goals in Iran, with all goal-related items scoring significantly below the moderate level. Among the three categories of barriers, human factors were ranked as the most severe, followed by technical-process factors, and environmental factors. The results confirm that the implementation gap in Iranian operational budgeting is not primarily driven by legal or governance deficiencies alone, but rather by deep-rooted human capital deficits and inadequate financial information infrastructure. The findings suggest that without addressing foundational human and technical factors especially training, recruitment competence, and accounting systems; legislative mandates for performance-based budgeting will continue to fail in practice. Unlike prior descriptive or historical accounts, this study offers a validated, multi-dimensional analytical framework that distinguishes and ranks environmental, technical, and human factors.