In many of the countries in which we work, governments are compounded by poor economic planning and financial management, which consequently impacts upon their capacity to raise revenues, set spending priorities, allocate and effectively deliver resources to the public. An effective public financial management system links the attainment of a country’s policy and strategy objectives to concrete spending plans, which are costed and prioritised. Annual and multi-annual budget plans are set and expenditure and cash management monitored through concrete financial accounting systems and processes and performance/results based criteria and indicators. Financial Management Information Systems are integrated IT systems to assist with the financial planning and management and can be integrated with the budget process. Legislation and internal and external auditing systems are essential to ensure that effective budget management is in place and there is financial accountability for decision-making. Gradually, as more and more countries adopt poverty reduction strategies and as budget support as a mechanism for donor financing becomes increasingly popular, the importance of effective public financial management systems reveal themselves to be crucial.
Our Economics Department covers two major sectors: Public Finance Management and Market Regulation & Economic Development. We provide expertise to Ministries of Finance and Economy, Treasuries, government regulatory bodies such as Competition and State Aid Agencies, Financial Markets Supervisory Authorities and other public organisations with the aim of assisting them in the development of effective policies and improving their institutional capacity and efficiency.