Policy-Based Budgeting: How to Spot the “Fakes”

Posted by Andrew Laing[1]

Governments introduce budget reforms programs for all kinds of reasons, noble or otherwise. But how can we tell if their declared good intentions are real? How can we identify genuine reform from “fake” reform? A recent paper by the Washington-based Institute for State Effectiveness provides a dozen examples of red flags for identifying “fake” budget reforms. It focused on two closely related areas of budgeting that are commonly found in PFM reform programs:

Improving Oversight of State Enterprises in Southern Africa

Posted by Robert Clifton, Avril Halstead and Tjeerd Tim[1]

The IMF’s Regional Technical Assistance Center for Southern Africa, AFRITAC South (AFS), recently organized a customized workshop on strengthening the oversight and monitoring of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for four countries in the region.[2] The workshop brought together technical staff of SOE oversight units from Botswana, Namibia, Seychelles, and South Africa for both knowledge development and peer‐to‐peer exchange of ideas and experiences.

Over the last two years, AFS has assisted Botswana and Seychelles in strengthening their SOE oversight capacity. It has also assisted Namibia and South Africa in their efforts to improve fiscal risk management.

How Internal Auditors Can Leverage the Power of FMIS

Posted by Puneet Kapoor[1]

Internal auditors in government are required to understand the internal control system, evaluate its design and effectiveness, and advise management on strengthening the system. In most jurisdictions, government internal auditors continue to use traditional manual auditing methods of testing controls by performing the tests on a retrospective and cyclical basis.

Top 10 PFM Blog Posts of 2019

Posted by Thibault Vermeulen, Richard Allen, and Teresa Curristine [1]

In the spirit of celebrating another successful year, the time has come to announce the Top Ten most popular blog posts of 2019.

2019 was a ground-breaking year for the PFM blog, with a record 76 articles being published. Readership levels remained high, as did the rich diversity of our articles, authors and readers. 44 percent of the articles, and a majority of those in the top 10, were written by external contributors from international organizations, the public sector, academia, and the private sector, which is higher than last year. Topics ranged widely, from corruption, to FMIS, to green budgeting, to gender budgeting, to fiscal rules and PFM in resource-rich countries, to making public infrastructure more efficient, and more. Some of these topics are old perennials, others were breaking new ground and stretching the envelope of knowledge.

Digitalizing FMIS in Latin America, the Caribbean and Korea

Posted by Carlos Pimenta and Gerardo Uña[1]

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department organized a recent three-day conference on Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS).[2] The conference discussed how new digital technologies can be harnessed to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, integrity and transparency of public financial management (PFM).

Building Climate Resilience: The Role of PFM Institutions

Posted by Guohua Huang and Richard Allen[1]

The Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF, in collaboration with the Fund’s Regional Technical Assistance Centers in the Caribbean and Pacific, organized a seminar on the role of PFM in building climate resilience on December 4-6, 2019 at the IMF’s HQ. The seminar brought together senior officials of finance ministries of 26 small island states from the Caribbean, Pacific, and Indian Ocean, development institutions, and bilateral donors.

Improving Internal Audit in the Pacific Region

Posted by Sue Morrison[1]

A key area of PFM reform—reflected in one of the 31 indicators (PI-26) of the PEFA framework—is to improve the strength of internal audit in developing nations and vulnerable island states. In my work as an internal audit advisor in the Pacific Region—including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Tuvalu—I have supported the networking and professional development of internal auditors through the courses and accreditation provided by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)[2], especially through IIA Australia. Although there are many thousands of kilometres of ocean between them, the network across the Pacific is building in strength and capability.

The Africa Debt Monitor

Posted by Danielle Serebro[1]

Public debt transparency depends on three key conditions: (i) effective recording, (ii) an extensive reporting function, and (iii) a willingness to share debt-related information (UNCTAD, 2018). Anomalous cases, such as Mozambique, where “off-book” loans were contracted to purchase fishing vessels and military equipment, and Zambia, which is suspected of hiding substantial external debt, have contributed to a general perception that African countries are unwilling to share their debt data and do not meet the third condition of debt transparency.

Good Financial Information Systems for Good Fiscal Transparency

Posted by Richard Allen and Gerardo Uña[1] 

The Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) organized two recent events to discuss how good financial management information systems (FMIS) are good for fiscal transparency. One of them was a webinar (http://www.fiscaltransparency.net/publish/) and the other was a working lunch at GIFT’s headquarters in Washington, DC. The webinar moderator was Lorena Rivera del Paso (GIFT), and the speakers were Neil Cole (CABRI, South Africa), Gustavo Merino (Ministry of Finance, Argentina), and Richard Allen and Gerardo Uña, both from Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF. Other participants included representatives of the US Treasury Department, the Open Government Partnership, and the International Budget Partnership.

“People, Planet, & Public Finance”: Not Just Another Climate Change Podcast

Posted by Delaine McCullough and Paul Steele[1]

A new space for discussing issues related to the use of public finance systems for addressing the climate crisis, build equitable and resilient societies, and strengthen environmental stewardship was launched this week.