ICGFM Survey Report: Public Financial Management Changes from the Financial Crisis Long-Term Effect

Day 1 Wrap Up

David Nummy wrapped up the first day of the 24th Annual ICGFM Conference, Monday afternoon in Miami. The conference theme is "Public Financial Management in the Era of the New Normal", in the post-financial crisis. Mr. Nummy say a recurring theme of transparency. Transparency and accountability was a theme throughout: internal controls, sovereign debt, and foreign aid.

David Nummy Introduces First Day of ICGFM Spring Conference

ICGFM Conference Co-Chair, David Nummy, of Grant Thornton, introduced the agenda for "The New Normal", Exploring the Post-Financial Crisis World.

Mr. Nummy mentioned the content being broadcast on Twitter at http://twitter.com/icgfm (@icgfm) and http://twitter.com/icgfmprograms (@icgfmprograms). He encouraged conference members to participate in blogs and videography.

ICGFM uses audience participation using interactive voting. First survey results:

In what region of the world do you normally reside:

• Africa 33%
  
• Europe 3%
• Asia/Pacific 12%
• North America 38%
• South America 14%

Is this the first ICGFM conference that you have attended?

• Yes 49%
  
• No 51%

77% of the audience comes from countries that receive donor assistance.

Mr. Nummy pointed out that an annual budget deficit of 3% has been considered fiscally responsible. He asked the audience how many G7 countries are running a budget deficit under 5% of GDP. The correct answer is one: Canada. He pointed out that 7% GDP budget deficit has been considered only for the most unstable countries. 4 countries of the G7 are running deficits higher than 7% of GDP : UK, US, Japan and France.

David Nummy is the executive director of the Grant Thornton global public-sector division. He was the managing director for fiscal accountability at the Millennium Challenge Corp. Prior to that, he was a senior adviser for budget policy and management with the U.S. Department of the Treasury for nearly 10 years, managing a worldwide program focusing on public-sector development in developing countries.

Lessons Learned from Government 2.0 Early Adopters

March 3, 2010 (Washington DC)
DC Forum

Lessons Learned from Government 2.0 Early Adopters
International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM)DC Forum Luncheon

Kim Patrick Kobza, President and CEO of INgage Networks

Few individuals are in a position to provide a 10-year look into Government 2.0 implementations. This month’s speaker will recount his company’s decade-long history of enabling government agencies to engage citizens, effectively manage public comment, and facilitate agency collaboration. Mr. Kobza will share success stories as well as lessons learned from public sector agencies that have ‘gone social’ and leveraged the value within their citizen and employee networks to fulfill their agency missions.

registration

Sponsored by:

International Government Performance Management Conference Kicks-Off

Performance - Results - Outcome

The International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) Winter Conference starts shortly at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington DC. The conference focus is on government performance management - understanding impact in managing public finance.

Conference speakers include:

• Mario Sangines of the Inter-American Development Bank
• James Brumby of the World Bank
• Jean-Baptise Sawadogo of Leader One Inc.
• Edouard B. Houssou and Gabin Mehou of the Government of the Republic of Benin
• Dr. Piotr Perczynski and
  Dr. Marta postula of the Government of the Republic of Poland
• Doug Hadden of FreeBalance
• Jerome Dendura of Quistron Inc.
• Lelia Aridi Afas and Steve Clyburn of Grant Thornton LLP
• Pokar Khemani of the International Monetary Fund

ICGFM/Grant Thornton Survey Finds Human Capital Greatest Obstacle for Public Financial Reforms

Greater Government Transparency Leading Driver for Public Financial Reforms

During summer 2009, 65 public sector officials from 35 countries representing Africa, East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, South Asia, and North America participated in the 2009 Survey on Global Financial Management Leaders sponsored by the International Consortium of Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM). The survey explored the reasons why countries engage in public financial management reform initiatives, the obstacles they face, the support required for successful implementation, the role of financial management leaders, the costs and benefits of transparency, dealing with global economic uncertainty and preventing future economic crises.

PFM reform challenges were identified through in-depth interviews by Grant Thornton partners and staff. The survey examined leadership, transparency and capacity issues while dealing with global uncertainty. Increasing government transparency and the involvement and participation of citizens was the leading reason cited for reform. Training,exchange, knowledge and skills development were identified as the major required for technical assistance.
2010 Grant Thornton ICGFM Progress in Public Financial Management Reform

2010 Grant Thornton ICGFM Avancées réalisées dans la réforme de la gestion des finances publiques

ICGFM Survey of Government Finance Managers, Spanish
ICGFM Survey of Government Finance Managers, Arabic

Recovery and the Transparency Initiative

ICGFM Sustaining Members, Grant Thornton and the Association of Government Accountants have published a survey of Government CFOs in Canada and the United States.


Recovery and the Transparency Imperative

The survey uncovered eight principles of financial transparency and six levels of "recovery university". Participants ranked the importance of activities necessary to achieve unqualified audits. The survey recommends:

• Mind the basics of public financial management like budgeting and controls
• Invest carefully to optimize resources
• Improve financial reports
• Increase transparency