?Financial Management Information Systems: 25 Years of World Bank Experience on What Works and What Doesn?t? was prepared as an updated and expanded version of the FMIS review report drafted in 2003, to highlight the achievements and challenges observed during the design and implementation of Bank funded FMIS projects since 1984.
This study is the first attempt to explore the effects of Financial Management Information Systems on publishing open budget data and improving budget transparency, and develop some guidelines on relevant aspects. The findings of the study are expected to provide a comprehensive view of the current government practices.
The first two decades of the twenty-first century have witnessed an influx of innovations and reforms in public financial management. The current wave of reforms is markedly different from those in the past, owing to the sheer number of innovations, their widespread adoption, and the sense that they add up to a fundamental change in the way governments manage public money. This book takes stock of the most important innovations that have emerged over the past two decades, including fiscal responsibility legislation, fiscal rules, medium-term budget frameworks, fiscal councils, fiscal risk management techniques, performance budgeting, and accrual reporting and accounting. Not merely a handbook or manual describing practices in the field, the volume instead poses critical questions about innovations; the issues and challenges that have appeared along the way, including those associated with the global economic crisis; and how the ground can be prepared for the next generation of public financial management reforms. Watch Video of Book Launch
The Handbook is a virtual encyclopedia of public financial management, written by topmost experts, many with a background in the IMF and World Bank. It provides the first comprehensive guide to the subject that has been published in more than ten years. The book is aimed at a broad audience of academics/students, government officials, development agencies and practitioners. It covers both bread-and-butter topics such as the macroeconomic and legal framework for budgeting, budget preparation and execution, procurement, accounting, reporting, audit and oversight, as well as specialist subjects such as government payroll systems, local government finance, fiscal transparency, the management of fiscal risks, sovereign wealth funds, the management of state-owned enterprises, and political economy aspects of budgeting. The book sets out numerous examples and case studies describing good practice in public financial management, and is highly relevant for use in both advanced and developing countries.
This paper defines and explains key stages of the government expenditure chain and describes the controls applied at each stage, including their objectives and key features as well as centralized vs. decentralized approaches in application of those controls. The paper also examines the influence of different administrative traditions on types of expenditure controls, including the authority and responsibility of various institutional actors. Finally, it discusses typical weaknesses/problems associated with different traditions of expenditure control and suggests specific measures for strengthening the control framework. While providing examples of expenditure control practices from more than 32 countries, the paper points out that more than two-thirds of the 85 low and middle income countries covered by the publicly available Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessments have weak systems of expenditure control that are also associated with higher levels of expenditure arrears and a lack of budget credibility. This paper will help public financial management practitioners to evaluate budget execution systems and identify priorities for strengthening expenditure controls. It will also usefully guide technical assistance work related to modernization of government budget execution and expenditure control systems, including the design and implementation of IT-based financial management information systems.
This technical note and manual (TNM) addresses the following main issues: • Discusses the purpose of a chart of accounts and its importance in public financial management • Discusses stakeholder needs in a typical public financial management framework that need to be reflected in a chart of accounts • Discusses the role of chart of accounts in budgetary and financial accounting • Discusses the relation between the chart of accounts and IFMIS • Explains key steps for identifying data requirements and structures for developing a chart of accounts
The book, in its second edition, precisely addresses the need of management students to acquaint with the basic concepts of computers, information technology and information system. The book provides readers with information pertaining to database concepts, networking essentials, web concepts and phases of system development life cycle. The business processes such as Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management and in e-Commerce are also introduced in the second edition. Thus the book can be regarded as one-stop compact teaching-reading resource for getting started with topics relevant to development of IT solutions. Key Features • The text is lecture based, which makes the teaching of the subject easier. • Comprehensive coverage of all important topics for clear understanding of the subject. • Chapter-end review questions to help students test their own knowledge of the subject matter. • Chapter-end summary for quick recapitulation of concepts before examination or moving to the next chapter. • Tables, figures and illustrations enhance concept apprehension.
This study is the first attempt to explore the effects of Financial Management Information Systems on publishing open budget data and improving budget transparency, and develop some guidelines on relevant aspects. The findings of the study are expected to provide a comprehensive view of the current government practices.
A well-functioning financial management information system (FMIS) provides timely, reliable, and comprehensive reports that support implementation of the government's fiscal policies and fiscal rules, and the formulating, controlling, monitoring, and executing of the budget. The architecture of FMISs has undergone a transformation since these systems were first developed in the 1980s. Rather than attempting to cover all or most public financial management (PFM) functions, many FMISs now focus on a few core functions such as accounting and reporting, budget execution, and cash management. Yet a survey of 46 countries shows that many face severe challenges in transforming their FMIS into an effective tool of fiscal governance. These challenges relate to weaknesses in the system's core functions, its institutional coverage, the information technology platforms it uses, and the ease of sharing data with other IT systems. This How to Note discusses how to address these chal-lenges. Replacing an FMIS with an entirely new system may not be an optimal strategy. By utilizing the latest technology, a better approach may be to update or replace one or more core modules of the system: the so-called modular approach. Implementation of an effective FMIS, however, depends on two critical preconditions: strong political motivation and commitment, and the system's ability to meet ongoing and anticipated PFM needs.
Traditionally, fiscal data for policy analysis are derived from official reports that, depending on the country, are published either monthly, quarterly or annually, often with significant time lags. However, innovations in digitalization of government payments and accounting systems mean that real-time daily fiscal data exist in many countries. In this paper, we argue that these data contain valuable, but underutilized and underexploited information. Possible uses include (i) realtime fiscal surveillance which allows for much more timely responses to emerging signs of fiscal stress, and (ii) nowcasting economic activity, which is especially useful in countries where higher frequency GDP statistics are unavailable.