Other Financial Accountability Study

149 items available

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http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2186

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Introducing the New PPB - Pragmatic Program Budgeting: Overcoming Design Obstacles to Planning, Management, and Control

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-01-24) Brumby, James ; Hashim, Ali ; Piatti Fuenfkirchen, Moritz

Program budgeting is a reform that intends to shift the focus of budgetary processes from control of inputs to producing measurable results. It aspires to enable governments deploy resources to priority areas and assess whether the resources have been translated into intended results. This paper identifies specific stumbling blocks for countries already implementing program budgeting that have caused implementation difficulties, especially in budget execution, and suggests means to resolve them. This paper aims to help resolve the tensions between planning, management, and control in pursuit of higher performance from governments. In doing so, the focus is not only observing and supporting the efficiency and effectiveness goals of program budgeting but also resolving the tensions arising from execution control and designing measures to support analysis and performance
Toward More Accountable PPPs: A Review of the Development, Implementation, and Post-Implementation Experience of Improved Disclosure Practices in PPPs in Ghana, Honduras, Kenya, and Nigeria

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-11-12) World Bank

In the face of declining fiscal space and the need to build back better after the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, governments are turning to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to deliver infrastructure assets and services. Disclosure of information plays an important role in PPP programs. Several clients of the World Bank Group, including those with well-established PPP programs, currently do not disclose PPP information in a structured way throughout the project life cycle. Responding to these challenges, the World Bank developed a series of knowledge products to understand disclosure in PPPs, as well as to provide tools to governments for improving PPP disclosure. Post implementation of national PPP disclosure frameworks in the pilot countries, it became important to document the process, as well as assess the experience and perceptions related to the changed disclosure environment culminating in the disclosure of information via public-facing web portals. To support this task, a study was carried out over 2019-2020 to capture the enhanced disclosure environment, understand the perceptions of stakeholders vis-à-vis structured disclosure, identify what was working well, as well as indicate areas for improvement. This paper is a culmination of this effort to document the process and analyze the experience gained from the four-country pilot carried out in Ghana, Honduras, Kenya, and Nigeria. Section 1 of the paper provides the general background within which PPP disclosure is located, as well as the key elements of the World Bank’s Framework for Disclosure in PPPs. Section 2 documents the process followed in developing and implementing customized national frameworks in the pilot countries.
Supreme Audit Institutions’ Use of Information Technology Globally for More Efficient and Effective Audits

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-18) World Bank

Supreme audit institutions (SAIs) recognize the benefits of using technology to improve the quality and impact of their audits. This benefit has further intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic; SAIs with existing technology capacity have continued to perform their role effectively and efficiently. The paper explores how at a global level SAIs are using technology to perform more efficient and more effective audits. It provides a brief overview of how some SAIs are harnessing the possibilities created by advances in technology to develop new, innovative audit methods and procedures. It also seeks to identify the factors inhibiting other SAIs in particular SAIs in developing countries from implementing and using audit methods based on information technology (IT). Against this background, the paper suggests ways in which the World Bank, working with other stakeholders, can facilitate the more extensive and more effective use of IT-based tools and methods by SAIs. The impact of COVID-19 has introduced a new important consideration: namely, how IT has helped some SAIs respond with agility and resilience to the unprecedented and completely unforeseen circumstances created by the pandemic.
Supreme Audit Institutions Independence Index: 2021 Global Synthesis Report

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-07-20) World Bank

This report aims to inform and better equip World Bank task teams and development partners to support the strengthening of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) in client countries. It also aims to help focus the ongoing collaboration between the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institution (INTOSAI) and development agencies to address the intractable SAI independence issue. The report also responds to yearnings of several development partners to better understand the degree of SAI independence in countries and regions.
Lessons from Implementing a National Financial Inclusion Strategy

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-06-25) World Bank

A national financial-inclusion strategy (NFIS) helps policy makers, in coordination with a wide range of stakeholders, define objectives and outline a set of impactful, sequenced actions to accelerate progress toward achieving financial-inclusion goals. Achieving greater financial inclusion requires a deliberate, coordinated approach to identify barriers and opportunities, and a platform for diverse stakeholders to coordinate efforts to achieve shared financial-inclusion objectives. NFIS implementation typically involves operationalizing governance arrangements to oversee implementation, establishing a framework for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to capture progress regularly, implementing action plans to achieve financial-inclusion targets, and making necessary adjustments to address changing landscapes. In 2018, the World Bank Group (WBG) released a toolkit that provides financial-sector authorities and other stakeholders with practical guidance on developing and operationalizing an NFIS. After launching an NFIS, many factors influence and shape progress and success, and no two countries travel the same path during NFIS implementation. This note aims to build on existing NFIS knowledge by sharing insights that have helped improve implementation postlaunch. When used together with the WBG NFIS Toolkit, this note aims to support countries that are working to draft, launch, and implement an NFIS effectively.
South Africa Financial Ombud System Diagnostic

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-06-10) World Bank

The Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice of the World Bank Group (WBG) aims to help countries build financial systems that are deep, diversified, inclusive, efficient, and stable essential to promoting economic growth, reducing poverty, and increasing shared prosperity. One core activity is supporting national authorities to achieve their objectives for financial inclusion, by supporting policy, legal, regulatory, and supervisory reforms in areas such as financial consumer protection, including financial-sector alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Through the South Africa Financial Sector Development and Reform Program, the WBG is supporting the national reform process, which includes achieving an efficient and effective ADR system, so that financial customers can hold financial institutions to account if there is a dispute. This diagnostic review valuates the current financial-sector Ombud system in South Africa, Compares it against international good practice, and recommends reforms to provide good-quality outcomes and good value for money for the future.
Building a Financial Education Approach: A Starting Point for Financial Sector Authorities

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-06-01) World Bank

While the importance of financial capability has been studied empirically, questions remain about program effectiveness, whether and how effectively these skills can be taught to consumers, and if financial education programs lead to sustained behavioral changes that improve one’s financial wellness and inclusion. When studied analytically, the results of financial education have been mixed. The objective of this report is to help guide financial sector authorities to build a more effective approach to financial education. The report synthesizes available resources and complements existing knowledge about financial education. It also explores the appropriate role for financial sector authorities within financial education and outlines a practical approach for financial sector authorities who choose to develop financial education agendas or strategies. Lastly, the report provides an overview of the best tools and practices to improve the effectiveness of financial education initiatives.
Public-Sector Productivity (Part 1): Why Is It Important and How Can We Measure It?

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-02) Somani, Ravi

This note is the first of a two-part series that explores the importance of public-sector productivity and its measurement (part one); and its determinants (part two). This note summarizes a review of the literature on different approaches to measuring public-sector productivity (the rate at which inputs are converted into outputs). This note recommends: complementing traditional `macro’ measures of public-sector productivity, such as the cost-weighted-output approach presented in Atkinson (2005), with fine-grained `micro’ measures at the individual organization, employee, and task and process level; monitoring and reporting output (performance) measures and inputs (costs) separately; and combining multiple measures of productivity, tied closely to the service-delivery chain.
The Quality of Audits by Supreme Audit Institutions: A Review of Compliance with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12) World Bank

Public sector auditing provides unbiased, objective assessments of public sector programs, policies, operations, and results to detect whether public resources are managed responsibly and effectively to achieve intended results and to instill confidence among citizens and stakeholders. Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) perform a vital role in the functioning of governments as they inform legislatures and other stakeholders through their independent audit reports. They help promote good governance, accountability, and transparency. The work of SAIs in reducing waste and abuse of public resources has the indirect effect of making more money available for programs that fight poverty, which lie at the core of the World Bankâ€™s work to end extreme poverty.
Government Financial Reporting in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-10-31) World Bank

The economic shock of the coronavirus outbreak has an unprecedented impact on public finances. Governments are implementing massive fiscal packages including both budgetary and nonbudgetary measures to fight the pandemic while receipts are sharply down. Communicating the financial consequences of Coronavirus (COVID-19) to all stakeholders in a timely manner is important to create enduring broad support. Audited financial statements play a key role in building citizen trust in government. This policy note provides reflections on how governments could make use of existing systems of financial reporting during the pandemic as well as opportunities for improved financial reporting systems for the post-crisis environment. It also seeks to share insights into the impact of the pandemic on government financial performance, position, and cash flows.