World Bank2013-09-252013-09-252013978-0-8213-9898-210.1596/978-0-8213-9898-2https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15806This report presents the findings of a study of functions carried out by Central Finance Agencies (CFAs) that was financed jointly by the Bank Netherlands Partnership Program (BNPP), the Korean Trust Fund (KTF) and the World Bank over a three-year period from July 2008 to mid-2011. CFAs are not a single organization or entity of government but a group of ministries and agencies, of which the ministry of finance (MoF) is normally the most prominent, with collective responsibility for the design and implementation of a country's vast array of financial and fiscal policies and operations. Such policies and operations include macro fiscal analysis and forecasting, budget preparation and execution, accounting and reporting, cash and debt management, fiscal risk analysis, public procurement, tax policy and customs/revenue administration, and the regulation of financial institutions. In most developing countries, the role of CFAs is the public resources nexus of all issues with a political economy dimension. The allocation of roles and responsibilities for central finance functions among the finance ministry itself and other government agencies varies substantially from country to country. Chapter one of the reports defines the concept of a CFA-which is the array of government organizations (including notably the finance ministry) that carry out 16 core finance functions of government (budget preparation and execution, tax policy and revenue administration, procurement, and so on), that are central to the management of public finances. Chapter two summarizes the main issues and themes arising from the case studies. Substantial progress was made in identifying institutional factors that affect the capabilities of CFAs, including their organizational structures, linkages with stakeholders, availability and use of staff with appropriate skills in economics, accountancy and finance. Chapter three describes the CFA database and the questionnaire that was used by Country Management Units (CMUs) and others in compiling it. Chapter four presents the main conclusions and operational implications of the study. 'Political economy' analysis is not only important but fundamental to successful strengthening of CFAs.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYACCOUNTANTACCOUNTINGADMINISTRATIVE CULTUREADVANCED ECONOMIESAID EFFECTIVENESSALLOCATIONALLOCATIVE EFFICIENCYAPPROPRIATIONSAUTONOMYBANK ACCOUNTSBANKSBORROWINGBUDGET ALLOCATIONSBUDGET CIRCULARBUDGET DOCUMENTSBUDGET EXECUTIONBUDGET LAWBUDGET PLANNINGBUDGET PREPARATIONBUDGET PROCESSBUDGETINGCAPITAL INVESTMENTCAPITAL INVESTMENTSCAPITAL MARKETSCASH BALANCESCASH MANAGEMENTCCCENTRAL BANKCENTRAL BANKSCHECKSCIVIL SERVANTSCIVIL SERVICECIVIL SERVICE PAYCIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONSCONSOLIDATIONCOUNTRY PROCUREMENTCOUNTRY PROCUREMENT ASSESSMENTDATA COLLECTIONDEBTDEBT MANAGEMENTDECISION-MAKINGDECISION-MAKING PROCESSESDEPOSITSDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCEDEVOLUTIONDIAGNOSTIC ANALYSISDIAGNOSTIC INSTRUMENTSDIAGNOSTIC WORKECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC POLICYECONOMICSEFFICIENCY GAINSEFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTSEMPLOYEEEMPLOYMENTEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESEXCHANGE RATEEXPENDITUREEXPENDITURESEXTERNAL AUDITEXTERNAL AUDIT BODYEXTERNAL DEBTFINANCE MINISTERSFINANCE MINISTRIESFINANCE MINISTRYFINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITYFINANCIAL ASSETSFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONSFINANCIAL MANAGEMENTFINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATIONFINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMFINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSFINANCIAL POLICYFINANCIAL SECTORFINANCIAL SECTOR REGULATIONSFINANCIAL SUPPORTFINANCIAL TRANSACTIONSFISCAL AGGREGATESFISCAL CONTROLFISCAL DISCIPLINEFISCAL OUTCOMESFISCAL POLICIESFISCAL POLICYFISCAL POSITIONFISCAL RISKFISCAL RISKSFISCAL TRANSPARENCYFOREIGN INVESTORSGENDERGENDER BALANCEGOVERNMENT BANKGOVERNMENT REVENUESGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTHUMAN RESOURCEHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTHUMAN RESOURCESINCOMEINCOME GROUPSINCOME LEVELINCOME LEVELSINCOME TAXINCOME TAXESINFORMATION SYSTEMINFORMATION SYSTEMSINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIESINTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONSINTERNAL AUDITINTERNAL CONTROLINTERNATIONAL BANKINTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINTERNATIONAL STANDARDSINVESTINGINVESTMENT BANKINVESTMENT PROJECTSJOB SECURITYLACK OF RESPECTLEARNING OPPORTUNITIESLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGISLATIONLENDING INSTRUMENTLEVYLIMITED ACCESSLINES OF ACCOUNTABILITYLOANMACROECONOMIC CONDITIONSMACROECONOMIC FORECASTSMACROECONOMIC POLICYMANAGEMENT ACCOUNTINGMANDATESMEDIUM-TERM EXPENDITUREMEDIUM-TERM EXPENDITURE FRAMEWORKMINISTRIES OF FINANCEMINISTRY OF ECONOMYMINISTRY OF FINANCEMONETARY FUNDMONITOR PERFORMANCEMOTIVATIONNATIONAL AUTHORITIESNATIONAL INCOMENATIONAL INVESTMENTNATURAL RESOURCESOPERATIONAL EFFICIENCYORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTUREORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURESOUTPUTSOVERSIGHT MECHANISMSPERFORMANCE FRAMEWORKPERFORMANCE MANAGEMENTPERFORMANCE TARGETSPOLITICAL ECONOMYPOLITICAL INSTITUTIONSPOLITICAL LEVELSPOLITICIANSPOVERTY REDUCTIONPOVERTY-REDUCTION TARGETSPRODUCTIVITYPROGRAMSPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC EXPENDITURE REVIEWPUBLIC FINANCEPUBLIC FINANCESPUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTPUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMSPUBLIC INVESTMENTPUBLIC INVESTMENT PROGRAMPUBLIC MANAGEMENTPUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPSPUBLIC PROCUREMENTPUBLIC RESOURCESPUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SECTOR REFORMPUBLIC SERVICEPUBLIC SERVICESPUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPSQUALITY CONTROLREFORM AGENDAREFORM OBJECTIVESREFORM PROCESSREFORM STRATEGIESREGULATORY FRAMEWORKREGULATORY FRAMEWORKSRENTSREVENUE FORECASTINGSALES TAXESSERVANTSSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSTATISTICAL ANALYSISTAX POLICIESTAX POLICYTAX REVENUESTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETOP MANAGEMENTTRANSACTIONS COSTSTRANSPARENCYTREASURYTREASURY FUNCTIONTREASURY SYSTEMSTRUST FUNDWARRANTSWorld Bank10.1596/978-0-8213-9898-2