Description
With many developing countries currently undertaking PFM reforms, this course provides an opportunity for participants to meaningfully contribute and impact upon the success of such reforms. The workshop extends the PFM analytical frameworks developed in the Foundations of Public Finance Management course (P1-PFM-03) to interpret the strengths and weaknesses identified in a PFM performance assessment (such as a PEFA Assessment) to identify the appropriate platform focus, the roll out schedule and the sequencing of reforms that can be expected to lead to the greatest reform impact. These elements are considered within the constraints of the political economy, the available resources and the capacity limitations. The emphasis on an analytical framework approach provides the participant with relevant and effective tools to assess and understand a given country´s PFM and identify realistic options for PFM reform.
This professional development workshop covers the factors, actors, drivers and constraints to PFM Reform. It explores political economy factors and the political economy analysis tools available to improve country programmes. It examines different approaches to PFM reform and identifies the change management dynamics that must be taken into account in adopting a particular strategic reform posture. Further it looks at the New Programme Management methods and assesses their appropriateness in the developing country context. Sequencing is given a central emphasis in this workshop as experience has shown us PFM reforms that ignore a careful consideration of sequencing are unlikely to succeed. Opportunities for reform across the full functional scope of PFM are discussed including areas in strategic planning; budget formulation; budget classification; the budget process; budget releases and cash management; predictability and control in budget execution; budget and expenditure control; payroll management; procurement; and internal audit. This workshop also touches upon reform opportunities in revenue management; debt management; simple accounting and financial reporting.
The course concludes with an outline on developing a reform strategy and the institutional arrangements for managing a PFM reform programme. It outlines how to estimate costs, the use of single coordinated funding vehicles to support PFM reform, monitoring and evaluation and appropriate financial management.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course participants will:
• Be aware of the complex nature of PFM reform – the political dimension, the macro-economic context, change management, capacity development, the institutional framework, the constraining dimension of functional linkages and the financial administration network
• Understand what is meant by political economy analysis and how it can be applied to PFM reform; understand the potential benefits of conducting an analysis of the political economy of the budget and the general implications of political economy analysis for PFM reform
• Be equipped with basic frameworks for identifying the strengths and weaknesses of a country’s PFM systems.
• Be able to identify the ways in which the PEFA analysis can help in identifying key elements for PFM reform
• Be able to question the relevance of some popularly promoted PFM reforms in a country specific context – such as performance budgeting, activity based budgeting, the use of MTEF, accrual accounting, IFMIS, public-private partnerships; the (mis)application of “best practice”
• Understand the idea of sequencing in PFM reform and improvement, and that any sequencing must be adapted to the situation in a given country; identify why sequencing is important because "things" take time and "things" should take time.
• Identify the different perspectives on sequencing – the platform approach, the “evolution” approach, “islands” of perfection; PFM activity chains, basics and beyond basics – and their strengths and weaknesses
• Be able to outline the key features necessary for the implementation of a successful comprehensive PFM reform programme
• Be able to identify the type of capacity development support that will be needed to support the PFM reform effort.
Learning methods
The learning methods will include the following
• Introduction to key concepts through the “teaching and discussion” methods
• The use of original source material of key writers/thinkers in this area (to show that it is a subject, outside the “donor world”)
• The use of extensive examples from many different countries with different experiences to illustrate the points put across
• The use of exercises (in particular short "buzz-group" sessions) to provoke and consolidate certain points raises
• The use of major case studies –to illustrate in more detail some of the key points of the course.