Former U.S. Comptroller General and Outspoken Advocate for Good Government Financial Management, David M. Walker, to Keynote ICGFM Conference

Government Leaders, Public Financial Experts and International Donors Will Gather to Discuss Government’ Response to the Economic Crisis

Can Governments Spend to Prosperity?

ALEXANDRIA, VA – May 5, 2009 – The International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) announced today it will host its 23^rd Annual Conference from May 18-22 at the Biscayne Bay Marriott, Miami, FL.

The topical them “Country Perspectives on Public Financial Management during Global Economic Uncertainty”, focuses on the role of governance and reform. The conference will feature an outspoken advocate for better government fiscal discipline, David M. Walker.

Mr. Walker is the former Comptroller General of the United States and currently President of the Peter G. Petersen Foundation.

During his tenure at the Government Accountability Office, Mr. Walker warned about long-term liabilities and fiscal imbalances. In particular, Mr. Walker has warned that countries cannot spend their way to prosperity. Scheduled to speak during the opening day, he will address the conference on “Government and the Financial Crisis: What lead up to the financial crisis? What is the global impact on developed and developing countries? What can governments do better?”

“We are honored to have Mr. Walker as our keynote speaker. As an outspoken dedicated, nonpartisan advocate for fiscal responsibility, the Consortium is anxious to hear Mr. Walker’s views regarding the international financial crisis we now find ourselves in, and most importantly the difficult choices facing the international community to begin to find our way out of this financial storm”, said James R. Ebbitt, ICGFM’s President. “ICGFM members will benefit from his experience and unique point of view.”

Representatives from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America will be gathering in Miami to network and share government initiatives in response to the global economic downturn. Many governments are improving financial discipline to deal with the changing economic climate and the opportunities of globalization. Attendees will describe good public financial management practices that enable dealing more effectively with economic uncertainty. Experts from more than 50 countries came to the conference in 2008.

The week-long conference will cover key critical areas in public financial management:

• sustaining the public financial reform agenda
• more effective managing of revenue and debt
• better budget management practices
• impacts on public private partnership projects
• changes to donor funding and development partner projects
• value of implementing international standards
• sustaining the delivery of results
• the on-going drive to stamp out corruption

Rhoda Canter, ICGFM’s Vice President for Programs, noted that ”discussing the real problems being faced by governments as a result of global economic conditions will be the focal point of this conference. Bringing peers together to learn from each other is the value of ICGFM, and this year it will be more valuable than ever.”

For more than two decades, ICGFM has served as an international forum for public sector financial managers, with an emphasis on developing countries. Working globally with governments, organizations and individuals, ICGFM is dedicated to improving financial management by providing opportunities for professional development and information exchange. More information about ICGFM is available on our website, www.icgfm.org .

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email: ICGFM@icgfm.org

www.icgfm.org