USAID Seminar: a Practical Guide to Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS)

Posted by Duncan Last

I participated on June 10, 2008 as a panelist in a USAID seminar on IFMIS, aimed at raising the awareness among USAID staff and contractors on IFMIS issues. The main speaker was Edwin Rodin-Brown, who has been involved in IFMIS projects in Slovakia, Kosovo, and Vietnam (where he is currently working).

Edwin has recently completed a practical guide and best practice note on IFMIS systems, for USAID.

The full text of the best practice note :Download ifmis_bpn_web1.pdf

Key issues discussed during the seminar included: what makes IFMIS systems succeed, how to deal with legacy systems, custom built vs. off the shelf packages, importance of chart of accounts and treasury single account to IFMIS; the need to define clear goals for the IFMIS, taking into account the conditions on the ground, ensuring an adequate conceptual design, the place of IFMIS within broader PFM reforms, and how to ensure data quality. There was active participation from the audience who expressed general satisfaction with the event.

Comments

[Ismail]

Though there were some Fund staff, there were hardly any World Bank staff? Two key messages;
1- IFMIS- too important to be left only to ECONOMISTS!
2- "There is the Chart of Accounts and the rest is commentary"
-Ismail