Publication: Republic of Ghana : Country Financial Accountability Assessment
Loading...
Published
2004-06
ISSN
Date
2013-07-24
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This CFAA updates the CFAA of 2001. In summary, the Government of Ghana undertook several initiatives to strengthen its financial accountability systems. New ones are replacing old laws -- the Financial Administration Act; Financial Administration Regulations, Procurement Act; Internal Audit Agency Act, and the Audit Service Act. Major public finance management systems are in the process of being upgraded and replaced: The Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) is now the government's budget preparation system; budget expenditures are classified based on administrative and economic functions and on GFS (Government Financial Statistics); poverty-reducing expenditures are identified and reported; control over commitments, arrears, and cash flow has improved; internal audit arrangements are to be strengthened with the establishment of an independent Internal Audit Agency; bank reconciliations have improved; year-end closure of accounts and submission of annual financial statements for the Consolidated Fund now meet statutory time frames; and the core government accounting system is to be replaced by a new integrated computer system (the Budget and Expenditure Management System), and the payroll system by the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Data System. This assessment concludes that since 2001, the Government's financial accountability systems have steadily improved, but that the new laws, regulations and systems still await effective implementation and full compliance. Part of the current implementation difficulties stems from attempting complex reforms with inadequate resources and a lack of proper change management. These should be addressed to improve the implementation effort and the chances of successful public financial accountability reform. In addition, particular focus is required on the following areas: (1) timely implementation of the budget calendar; (2) preparation of more realistic budgets; (3) simplification of the MTEF presentation; (4) comprehensiveness of budget information and annual financial statements; and (5) risk and commitment management.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2004. Republic of Ghana : Country Financial Accountability Assessment. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/14534 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Colombia : Country Financial Accountability Assessment(Washington, DC, 2005-04)In recent years Colombia has made important progress in its PFM systems and improved transparency in public finance. Important initiatives include adoption of the 2002 presidential anticorruption plan, improving the administration of publicly owned banks, clarifying responsibilities for managing expenditures among different levels of government, and introducing modem accounting concepts and procedures. These initiatives were supported by the rollout of new information systems covering the budget and local government finances, as well as the monitoring of public procurement. The Government enacted an important Fiscal Transparency and Responsibility Law in 2003, and strengthened the disciplinary code for public servants. The Government also strengthened the laws regulating contingent liability management in 1998, and is building a systematic framework to track and manage contingent liabilities. Systems are being put in place to track counter-guarantees for sub-national governments, lawsuits, and arrears to providers, and two special funds have been established to manage specific contingencies. Despite this progress, there remain problems in managing other liabilities. Among them: The Government has run up significant arrears with providers, largely because anticipated budget allocations from Treasury have been curtailed by revenue shortfalls. In addition, the handling of pension liabilities and contingent liabilities related to lawsuits represents an important financial management weakness. These contingent liabilities are aggravated by the Government's weak capacity to defend itself in court, and a reluctance to pursue legal action against civil servants, which implies that corruption involves little risk. In addition, the legal framework needed to flesh out constitutional mandates is not yet fully in place and is sometimes unclear, particularly in the areas of budget and fiscal control.Publication A Review of World Bank Support for Accountability Institutions in the Context of Governance and Anticorruption(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-12)The focus of this paper is on the institutions outside the executive branch that include supreme audit institutions, legislative oversight bodies (such as parliamentary public accounts and budget committees, and ombudsmen), related independent bodies, and civil society organizations. Through their support for accountability, donor countries and international financial institutions seek to help countries: promote voice and accountability as an intrinsic human right, and improve development outcomes in terms of poverty reduction, sustainable development. The report is organized as: first, provide a brief literature review of research on accountability, and how donors and other actors can work to improve it, including a review of the experience of other bilateral and multilateral donors in supporting domestic accountability through their policies, strategies, and behaviors as well as through direct support to accountability actors and systems. Second, briefly review the guidance prepared for Bank staff toward enhancing accountability. Third, review some examples of the Bank's experience in supporting domestic accountability. Finally, we present some conclusions and accountability-related questions for further analysis.Publication Dominican Republic : Country Fiduciary Assessment, Volume 2, Country Financial Accountability Assessment(Washington, DC, 2005-04)The Dominican Republic has made significant strides in deepening democracy during the past decade including the implementation of an important electoral reform. This fiduciary assessment was prepared by the Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as a tool for their coordinated policy dialogue on governance with the country, and as a key input for their respective assistance strategies. Consequently, the report also provides important contributions to both institutions' analytical work on public sector management, and State modernization which will be the basis for developing these strategies jointly with the government. The report was prepared as a composite document summarizing the main procurement, and financial management issues identified by the two banks in the Dominican Republic, within the broader public sector management context. Several short-term actions recommended in Volume II Country Financial Accountability Assessment (CFAA) and Volume III Country Procurement Assessment Report (CPAR Update) address the problems linked to the Government's weak capacity to manage the fiduciary function. Volume I presents key public sector issues relevant for the financial management system, including systemic strengths and weaknesses, the political economy surrounding the State modernization effort, and the obstacles to, and incentives for public financial management reform. It provides a wider context which is useful to assess fiduciary reforms that can be realistically implemented and expected to achieve sustainable results. Volume I also fosters the integration of the main recommendations for broad systemic improvements relevant to the public financial management system. These include reducing discretion within the executive power, improving access to, and quality of information, working more effectively with civil society by tapping into the leading Civil Society Organizations' technical ability and capacity to form strong coalitions, and building upon ongoing reform efforts including, in particular, the Integrated Financial Management Project (SIGEF) supported by the IDB. These broad aspects are recommended as priority areas for reform because their successful implementation would contribute to lowering the systemic risks, and establishing an enabling environment for regulatory, and enforcement bodies to function effectively. Unless such conditions exist, the specific legal, and institutional reforms required to strengthen the procurement and financial management systems, even if implemented, are not likely to have significant impact on the overall quality of public sector management.Publication Community Driven Development and Accountable Local Governance : Some Lessons from the Philippines(Washington, DC, 2009-10-15)This study evaluates the connections between community-driven development (CDD) and decentralized local governance, and the need to identify strategies for operational integration. It aims to deepen the understanding of how the institutional environment for local governance interacts with CDD project operations. It gives special emphasis on the issue of accountability, analyzing how CDD operations perform in terms of strengthening the capacity of citizens and civil society to hold local authorities and public service providers accountable, and the capacity of the local government to be held accountable. The study utilizes a two-pronged approach. First, it assesses the institutional environment for accountability in local governance. Second, it examines the operations of two major World Bank-assisted CDD projects in two municipal case study sites. Given that CDD projects both shape and are shaped by local governance contexts in which they are embedded, the study investigates how CDD operations in the Philippines are affected by and are helping reform local governance conditions. It is from the analysis of this interface between CDD operations and local governance conditions that the study aims to generate policy and operational recommendations to enhance integration between CDD and local governance approaches. The analysis of the institutional environment for accountability in local governance often found an enabling policy and legal framework in principle, but severely limiting constraints in practice.Publication Islamic Republic of Pakistan : Country Financial Accountability Assessment(Washington, DC, 2003-12-30)The objective of the CFAA is to enhance knowledge of public financial management (PFM) and accountability arrangements in Bank's client countries. As a diagnostic tool, the CFAA supports the Bank's fiduciary responsibilities by identifying strengths and weaknesses of PFM so that potential risks to Bank funds can be managed. It also supports the Bank's development objectives by facilitating common understanding with the borrower and other development partners to assist in the design of PFM capacity building programs. The CFAA can also be used by the Government of Pakistan (GoP) to manage its internal finances and to strengthen accountability frameworks. This Country Financial Accountability Assessment concludes that there are substantial opportunities for consolidating current reforms and for introducing additional reforms to further strengthen public financial accountability. This will require sustained policy level commitment. The Government's will to reform is evidenced by the scale and variety of actions underway at the Federal and provincial levels. The Government of Pakistan has already embarked upon wide ranging reforms to improve budgetary and accounting systems and internal control arrangements. These reforms are now starting to show results: The risks of revenue shortfalls have been reduced with the initiation of tax policy and tax administration reforms ~ The risks of increasing excess debt have been reduced by more controlled budgeting and debt management though the use of the Medium-Term Budget Framework (MTBF) and the establishment of the Debt Office The risks of late and inaccurate federal annual accounts have been reduced by improved accounting controls introduced by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in compilation of accounts and the Fiscal Monitoring Committees in encouraging reconciliations. The risks of limited transparency in accounts at all levels have been reduced by the decisions to give the Auditor General responsibility for certification audit of all annual government accounts.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.