Are International Standards Having an Impact on Transparency and Performance?

Posted by David Nummy 1/ 

The International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) has issued a call for speakers, panel members, and presentations to be made at its winter conference, which will be held this year at the offices of the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC, from December 6-8. The theme of the conference will be: Practical Uses of New Standards to Enhance Transparency and Program Performance

Examples of standards that might be the subject of proposals include:

• International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS)
• Adoption of XBRL for financial reporting
• INTOSAI Audit Standards
• Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) standards
• PFM and fiscal transparency standards from the IMF's Fiscal Transparency Code

An expert panel will review all proposals and select the most pertinent and thought-provoking of them for inclusion in the conference program. A stipend will be provided toward travel expenses of the selected presenters. PFM professionals wishing to submit proposals can seek more information at proposals@icgfm.org

It is intended that the participants in the conference and those who follow the published proceedings will gain tools and insights that can be used as they consider the adoption of international standards in their PFM regime. The conference organizers are seeking both examples of a successful adoption of standards as well as lessons learned and examples of unintended consequences and challenges encountered in adopting international standards.

The ICGFM (www.icgfm.org) is a non-profit group established in the 1960s by the IMF, World Bank, the US General Accounting Office and others to serve as forum for those interested in public financial management around the world, and to serve as an umbrella for government, academia, practitioners, individuals, and other associations interested in public financial management. The organization has a number of activities including a monthly lunch speaker series in Washington, DC, an annual conference in Miami and a somewhat smaller winter conference in Washington, DC. It also publishes the International Journal on Public Financial Management.

 

1/ David Nummy is a member of the ICGFM Programs Committee and an Executive Director at Grant Thornton Global Public Sector.