Publication: FYR Macedonia : Country Financial Accountability Assessment
Date
2004-03-11
ISSN
Published
2004-03-11
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
This Country Financial Accountability
Assessment (CFAA) reviewed the Government of
Macedonia's public expenditure management system, to
identify major fiduciary risks of financial management and
control. The report builds upon previous in-depth work,
conducted by the Bank, and focuses on identifying areas of
control risk, and making specific short- and medium-term
recommendations to mitigate them. Although significant
progress has been made in response to previous
recommendations, much remains to be done. The report notes
that a significant number of public entities operate outside
of budget controls: in 2002, 40 percent of spending by the
central government was conducted by extra-budgetary funds
(EBFs) that are not fully integrated into the
government's budgetary control and reporting processes.
The government should take immediate steps to strengthen the
governance structures over its EBFs, and implement its plans
to bring the EBFs fully into the budget. The Ministry of
Finance (MOF) should also establish appropriate oversight
over all other entities outside the budget, and formalize
its relationships with its public enterprises. An internal
audit must be implemented across Government. This is a
serious shortcoming: internal audit is an essential
component of a well-functioning internal control system that
covers all of the government's revenues and
expenditures. The State Audit Office's role, resources,
and technical capacities must be strengthened, for as an
external audit, it is another critical component in the
internal control of government revenues and expenditures.
The MOF should prepare a strategic plan to enable the
management of significant changes that it faces over the
next five years, and to set priorities for the various
strategies that it must implement. The global fiduciary risk
assessment presented, given the current state of public
financial management in Macedonia, is assessed as moderate.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2004. FYR Macedonia : Country Financial Accountability Assessment. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14592 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”