Government FMIS Challenges

A highly recommended paper on government accounting reform challenges from the Fund — How to Design a Financial Management Information System : A Modular Approach;

Accounting and fiscal reporting. In several of the countries reviewed, the FMIS presents problems in generating reliable and timely cash basis financial statements,7 and/or in recording all expenditures, revenues, borrowing, loans, grants, and other financial transactions made by government entities. Many FMISs are not based on a consistent chart of accounts or budget classification aligned with international standards. Several of the FMISs reviewed also failed to generate accurate and timely budget reports (on a monthly, quarterly, mid-year, or end-year basis). These challenges have been evident, for example, in Cambodia, Colombia, Grenada, Jamaica, Mali, Moldova, Peru, Senegal, and the Solomon Islands. In several countries, the FMIS has insufficient financial reporting capabilities, undermining its usefulness as a tool to support PFM processes and transparent dissemination of fiscal information. The absence of a data warehouse or the capacity to drill down to detailed information, for example, may restrict the production of reports that are tailored to the specific needs of users. Countries such as the Maldives, Nigeria, and Uruguay have faced these problems.

Related:

Rethinking the Design of FMISs

IMF’s PFM Online Course to Open Year-Round