The reform of public sector accounting - The role of the accountant - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

CIGAR Conference and PhD Seminar 2017 Oporto, 8 June 2017 The reform of public sector accounting - The role of the accountant - André Marçalo, Coordinator

Agenda 1. Initial remarks 2. PFM Reform players 3. Institutions and PFM Reform 4. Agents and PFM Reform 5. Information producers (accountants) and PFM Reform 6. Final remarks 2

1. Initial remarks Kick-off with some random images… 3

1. Initial remarks § Its is essential that the professionals dialogue between themselves § Technical level Accountants q Economists q Law Experts q … q § Different skills / different responsibilities 4

2. PFM Reform players PFM is demanding in different ways to the different § players Institutions Agents Communication Law Political decisions makers q q Ministries Information users q q Public Departments Information producers q q (accountants) 5

2. PFM Reform players Institutions § Adaptation to the new challenges q Change management q Capacitation and output improvement q Agents § Powerhouse of the reform q Resistance to change must be defeated q Benefit to the agents: better tools, better work q Communication § 6

3. Institutions and PFM Reform Law § Statutory changes do not guarantee success of the reform q Ministries § Line Ministries will have to absorb the reform q Finance Ministry q Central accounting and reporting function Central financial management information system New management control tools Public Departments (reporting entities) § Training & IT Systems q 7

4. Agents and PFM Reform Political decision makers § Political ownership q Awareness to the benefits of the reform for the respective q functions Information users § Department directors should manage the respective resources… q …and be held accountable for the respective decisions q Information producers (accountants) § Accountants are the basis of the pyramid q 8

5. Information producers (accountants) and PFM Reform PFM has to be built on sound foundations § There is no good management without good information § Characteristics of good information § Relevance q Reliability q Understandability q Timeliness q Comparability q Verifiability q 9

5. Information producers (accountants) and PFM Reform The production of such information demands the § participation of skilled professionals: accountants Accountants must be available at/to the public entities, § so that specific capacities are developed: Public finance q Internal control q Accounting and reporting q Performance management q Risk management q Government finance statistics q Procurement q 10

5. Information producers (accountants) and PFM Reform How? § Internal resources vs. external resources (pros and cons) q Legal framework § Public entities must have public accountants q Specific training q 11

6. Final remarks Each stakeholder must deliver on the respective task § As a foundation of the PFM infrastructure, accounting § should deserve top priority for implementation Accountants are at the core of the PFM reform… § …but are not alone: there are other responsible actors § and other success factors 12

Thank you for your attention. Visit our webpage www.unileo.gov.pt Or contact us by email:andre.marcalo@unileo.gov.pt (Coordinator) luis.viana@unileo.gov.pt (Technical Manager) 13