Sustainable Public Financial Management

Grant Thornton and FreeBalance White Paper

This white paper is co-authored by Government 2.0 thought leaders Martha Batorski, Director at Grant Thornton, and Doug Hadden, Vice President of Products at FreeBalance. “Government 2.0 is driving transformation in transparency, participation and collaboration,” said Doug Hadden, Vice President of Products at FreeBalance. “Our vision is that knowledge management and collaboration are integral to Government Resource Planning.”

The FreeBalance Grant Thornton paper encapsulates the essence of a series of articles from the FreeBalance Sustainable Public Financial Management blog to respond to a growing demand among Grant Thornton clients for greater clarity on what leaders need to do different to successfully transition to Government 2.0. Articles about Government 2.0 received substantial interest and attention from social enterprises and the broader public financial management community. The white paper shows how to employ effective change management skills in the emerging Government 2.0 open environment and  describes the new skills and mindsets government leaders need to adopt to address and the many, emerging new challenges they face.

Embracing Government 2.0 Leading Trans Formative Change in the Public Sector

Martha Batorski has over 20 years experience leading business transformation initiatives in the public and private sector.  She is currently leading Grant Thornton’s Government 2.0 and Change Management 2.0 practice in the Global Public Sector. And, she was a recent speaker at the Potomac Forum February 2009 Conference on “Planning and Implementing Social Media and Open Government Strategy and Efforts: What Executives and Managers Need to Know ” in Washington DC.

Martha Batorski writes about a key difference in leading change in the Government 2.0 era.   “Traditional change management frameworks work for a mandated, roll-out of change – where change is pushed to a target audience.   Change Management in the Web 2.0 era (Change 2.0) is more peer-to-peer, viral – change is pulled by participants, constituents, employees, customers.  One key difference for leaders is in the need to engage with others, to convert value from the network into meaningful products and services and knowledge, and to quickly identify practical solutions to challenges.”

Doug Hadden has over 20 years of management, sales, marketing and product management experience. He has been instrumental in creating a vision for GRP software that incorporates Web 2.0 collaboration and content. Recently, Mr. Hadden hosted an interactive session detailing how Government 2.0 will transform the practice of government performance and public financial management. And he participated on the “Government 2.0: The Next Wave of Open Government?” panel at the ICGFM Winter 2009 conference.

H.E. Mr. Jose Luis Guterres, Deputy Prime Minister of Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste spoke to the United Nations Security Council in New York on February 23rd of this year. Good governance and economic growth were key themes of his address.

According to United Nations Radio: “Speaking in the Security Council on Tuesday, Mr. Guterres said despite the current world economic and financial crises, Timor Leste’s economic growth of non-oil gross domestic product in 2008 was over 12 per cent. He added that preliminary estimates of economic growth for 2009 are around 12 per cent while the annual average inflation is less than 2 per cent.”

The Deputy Prime Minister explained to the Security Council how FreeBalance is helping Timor-Leste achieve governance objectives:

“The Government of Timor-Leste aims to make the Public Management of Public Finance among the most accountable and the most transparent in the world.

A few days ago, executives from a Canadian Management software company FreeBalance have visited Timor-Leste; they are providing accounting services to many countries; an agreement was reached in which they will provide software solutions for public financial and human resource management.

These new solutions will produce at least two portals for the public via a web-based interface; one is called transparency portal where the public can access real time information on how the state funds are being executed including details like amounts allocated, timing of the project, location of the project, and under which program the project is being implemented.

The other is a procurement portal that gives access to information on the procurement plans of the Government providing the business community equitable participation and adequate preparation time to complete and submit the process. Once the procurement process starts, it can be monitored and provide information to the public on how the procurement process was implemented which procurement method was utilized, the process of evaluation, the names of companies and bidders and the allocated to the successful bidder.

The citizens and organizations of my Country will be able to follow closely the budget execution and the procurement process in real time.”

Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day, an event that celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam, Uganda, and Bulgaria, International Women’s Day is a national holiday.

To celebrate Women’s Day in Kyrgyzstan, officials from the Treasury department visited the FreeBalance office with champagne and chocolates. Suanne Dorion, Cholpon Oskoeva, and Victoria Belkhout of FreeBalance were the recipients of the toast.

Learn more about International Women’s Day >>

FreeBalance staff celebrated World Read Aloud Day on March 3rd.  More pictures are available to FreeBalance customers through the FreeBalance Customer Exchange.

Dili, Timor-Leste: Stephen was able to capture a good picture of FreeBalance President and CEO, Manuel Pietra, with school children in Dili. Manuel has been at the forefront of Corporate Social Responsibility at FreeBalance by advocating more activities with SOS Children’s Villages and other organizations that focus on children.

Stephen says that “a fun time was had by all” at Escola Primaria Numero 4, Fatuhada, Dili. Timor Leste.

Guatemala City, Guatemala: Miguel and the FreeBalance team read aloud at Public School # 80 “Angelina Acuña” in Guatemala City.

“Teachers of the school also organized other activities related with the WRAD. All of us including kids and teachers enjoyed all the activities and shared a great moment all together!”

Kampala, Uganda: Tiberius reports that Government of Uganda IPPS project and Computech staff joined FreeBalance at World Read Aloud Day from the oldest school in Kampala.  SOS Children’s Villages in Kampala also leveraged the reading material.  Great art work was created by the children, rated far better than that produced by Tiberius who has wasted his talents on computer engineering.

Ulanbaatar, Mongolia: Khurelbaatar reports a “great day for the kits with lots of joy and new information sharing.”

Books were read aloud in English and Mongolian.  Children displayed their Read Aloud workbooks for the camera.

Every FreeBalance staff member reading aloud described the event as a wonderful experience highlighting the importance of literacy for economic development and innovation.

Pristina, Kosovo:  Rehana reports that children were happy to hear books read in Albanian and English.

Certificates were provided to all the children who participated around the globe. Certificates were proudly displayed by all.

Kosovo was the first FreeBalance customer outside of North America.

Lisbon,  Portugal: Antonio reports that the Portuguese children in the first year elementary class were intrigued with the subject matter. “When we explained this same thing was happening in classrooms all over the world, their eyes lit up and the questions flowed.”

Books were read in English and Portuguese.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: Victoria describes the wonderful experience with school children in the capital of the Kyrgyz Republic.

“We are very much pleased with the opportunity of reaching the hearts of kids on behalf of the mission and look forward for more repeatable events in the future.”

Palestine: Hussam thanks “FB management for giving the opportunity to share this with the kids in Palestine and special thanks from the kids themselves.”

World Read Aloud Day is much more active than reading and listening. Activities, discussion and interaction.

Ottawa, Canada: James reports finding a school that appears like the United Nations.

“Some students already speak two or three languages and are now learning English/French. It’s a very diverse school that does a wonderful job at being inclusive.

All the students enjoyed the story immensely. And they were very excited about the colouring activities and the stickers. Did I mention they liked the stickers!”

Washington, USA: Anne reports that Michael dressed as Batman was big hit with the children at a Head Start Pre-School Program. “all loved the book and there was lots of talk about favorite animals during the Animal on the Globe Activity.” Anne and Michael were accompanied by Kathleen Guy from Global Action for Children.

FreeBalance team members from Canada, Guatemala, Kosovo, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Palestine, Portugal, Timor-Leste, Uganda, and the United States will participate in World Read Aloud Day on March 3. This event will help raise awareness of the importance of literacy and will promote the transformative power of story. World Read Aloud Day was created by LitWorld, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing literacy education to the world’s most vulnerable communities.
Read the announcement and learn how you can participate >>

FreeBalance Participates in Regional Public Financial Management (PFM) Conference in Livingstone, Zambia

Annual ESAAG event to explore contribution of PFM in addressing fiscal impact of financial crisis

Ottawa, Canada (February 22, 2010) – FreeBalance, a For Profit Social Enterprise (FOPSE) software company that helps governments around the world to leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth, has been invited to participate in the 17^th Annual Eastern and South African Association of Accountants General (ESAAG) Conference. The ESAAG event will take place from February 22 to 25 in Livingstone, Zambia.

ESAAG supports the improvement of the democratic processes through transparency and accountability and by strengthening of the government accounting profession. ESAAG member countries include Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Over 500 delegates from member countries and the international public financial management and accounting community are expected. FreeBalance has been a strong supporter of ESAAG since first participating as an exhibitor and sponsor of the 2006 conference in Maseru, Lesotho.

The 2010 ESAAG event is well aligned with the FreeBalance vision for financial management in governments in Africa. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is designed specifically for public financial management and covers the entire budget cycle including budget preparation, budget execution and civil service management. Countries in Africa that are introducing public financial management reforms require an experienced partner that has repeatedly overcome the challenges of rolling out a modern public financial management system in challenging circumstances. This includes overcoming the lack of physical infrastructure, low capacity, resistance to change and an appropriate sequence to reflect legal reform. 

“The annual ESAAG event is important for the public financial management community in Africa. The member countries of ESAAG are at various stages of fiscal reform and have a unique opportunity to share lessons learned and experiences to support their initiatives,” said Manuel Pietra, President & CEO of FreeBalance. “FreeBalance is working in Africa to support government efforts to promote accountability, transparency and performance with the use of Government Resource Planning (GRP) solutions.” 

FreeBalance customers span the globe and the user community includes public financial management professionals in 18 countries, including Namibia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Southern Sudan. FreeBalance operates in 15 customer time zones. FreeBalance has more than 60,000 users around the world. FreeBalance software manages a global civil service workforce of 1,500,000, and also manages a quarter trillion ($US) annual budgets worldwide. 

About ESAAG
The East and Southern African Association of Accountants General – ESAAG – is the regional body of Accountants General which supports its members in adoption and implementation of best practice in Public Financial Management practices.  ESAAG holds an International conference every year to which its members and non-members are invited.  The objective of the conference is to appraise participants from ESAAG and those from outside the association of the developments in Public Financial Management Reforms.  The conference is also an excellent opportunity for networking, exchange of ideas and information and sharing solutions on issues of mutual concern in public sector financial management. 

About FreeBalance
Founded in 1984, FreeBalance is a For Profit Social Enterprise (FOPSE) software company that helps governments around the world to leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth. FreeBalance software solutions for public financial and human resource management support reform and modernization to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Good governance is required to improve development results.

FreeBalance is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with sales and support offices in Washington, DC (United States), Lima (Peru), Lisbon (Portugal), London (Great Britain), Pristina (Kosovo) and St. John (Antigua and Barbuda). FreeBalance solutions have been implemented in countries across the globe, including Canada, United States, Sierra Leone, Guyana, Pakistan, Mongolia, Namibia, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Timor-Leste, Republic of Kosovo, Palestine, Panama, Southern Sudan and Uganda.

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Another step toward the Gusmão Government’s goal to make the Public Finance Management of Timor-Leste among the most transparent and accountable in the world was achieved this month as a high level delegation from FreeBalance visited the country by invitation of the Ministry of Finance. The broad range of meetings provided an overview of how the public financial management goals and objectives of the Government of Timor-Leste can be addressed with the comprehensive suite of Government Resource Planning solutions offered by FreeBalance.
Read the rest of the Feb 19, 2010 announcement >>

Timor-Leste Accelerates Public Financial Management Reform

FreeBalance supports Government commitment to build capacity, increase self-sufficiency,  improve transparency, and ensure accountability

Ottawa, Canada (February 18, 2010) – FreeBalance, a For Profit Social Enterprise (FOPSE) software company that helps governments around the world to leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth, today announced an enhanced strategic partnership with the Government of Timor-Leste. The Government of Timor-Leste is committed to fast tracking technologies to modernize Public Financial Management (PFM). The Government will leverage web-based technology from FreeBalance designed specifically to support the full government budget cycle. 

Consultations and meetings were conducted last week between FreeBalance and the President of Timor-Leste, His Excellency Jose Ramos Horta, the Prime Minister, His Excellency Xanana Gusmão, The Minister of Finance, Her Excellency Emilia Pires, the Council of Ministers, National Parliament, Commission C, and representatives from line ministries, civil society, the private sector, and development partners.

Based on these consultations, FreeBalance will sequence products and services using a platform approach that builds over time, considered a good practice for public financial management reform. These platforms form part of the shared vision of FreeBalance and the Government of Timor-Leste of:

1. Building technical capacity and long-term sustainability
2. Improving budget execution to optimize revenue and procurement processes
3. Increasing transparency through decision-making tools and publication of data
4. Delivering performance management tools to develop a performance culture and improve government effectiveness

The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, His Excellency Xanana Gusmão said “On behalf of the Government we wish to extend our appreciation to the delegation from FreeBalance led by CEO and President Mr. Manuel Pietra. FreeBalance has demonstrated their capacity and commitment to ensuring Timor-Leste will have one of the most progressive Public Financial Management Systems in the world, catered for the specific needs of our young nation and in line with global best practices. The new measures for transparency and accountability will be a milestone in our short history of self governance and we look forward to continuing our work with FreeBalance which is integral to state building.”

The FreeBalance solution for the Government of Timor-Leste follows the FreeBalance ISO 9001:2000 certified customer-centric model for product development and implementation. This model enables the Government of Timor-Leste to work closely with FreeBalance to set product development priorities to ensure objectives are met. The migration to the latest technology will enable the Government of Timor-Leste to benefit from advances in workflow, usability, and ease of deployment. FreeBalance has placed an advisor in the Ministry of Finance to supervise project implementation to ensure a smooth rollout. FreeBalance will continue to maintain a local presence with additional support and advisory services in the country. Local support and a mentorship program that links civil servants with public financial management experts is integral to the FreeBalance methodology to ensure sustainable public financial management reform.

“FreeBalance is committed to supporting the Government of Timor-Leste as it continues to find new and innovative ways to accelerate public financial management in support of government priorities,” said Manuel Pietra, President & CEO of FreeBalance. “The Government of Timor-Leste has a unique opportunity to become one of the world’s most open, transparent, and accountable governments. This will demonstrate worldwide leadership in public financial management and will provide new levels of citizen engagement and government effectiveness.”

FreeBalance customers span the globe and the user community includes public financial management professionals in 18 countries. FreeBalance operates in 15 customer time zones. FreeBalance has more than 60,000 users around the world. FreeBalance software manages a global civil service workforce of 1,500,000, and also manages a quarter trillion ($US) annual budgets worldwide.

About the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Internationally recognized as an independent state in 2002, Timor-Leste is located in south western Asia. The former Portuguese colony has witnessed rapid development growth in recent years. Tetum and Portuguese are official languages.

About FreeBalance
Founded in 1984, FreeBalance is a For Profit Social Enterprise (FOPSE) software company that helps governments around the world to leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth. FreeBalance software solutions for public financial and human resource management support reform and modernization to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Good governance is required to improve development results.

FreeBalance is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with sales and support offices in Washington, DC (United States), Lima (Peru), Lisbon (Portugal), London (Great Britain), Pristina (Kosovo) and St. John (Antigua and Barbuda). FreeBalance solutions have been implemented in countries across the globe, including Canada, United States, Sierra Leone, Guyana, Pakistan, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Timor-Leste, Republic of Kosovo, Palestine, Panama, and Uganda.

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Just found a very informative blog: “Conflict and Development, Overcoming Conflict and Fragility.” This blog is hosted by the team working on the World Bank’s upcoming World Development Report 2011 titled “Conflict, Security, and Development.”

There are many well-written articles and video interviews on the blog. The two part article “Speaking Out About Conflict” includes interviews with leaders from conflict-affected countries. The leaders talk about overcoming conflict, building institutions, confidence building, and the role of the international community. These interviews were conducted during a recent World Development Report 2011 event.

The interviews with the representatives from Afghanistan, Timor Leste, and Uganda are especially relevant for FreeBalance as we have partnered with these governments to modernize their Public Financial Management (PFM) and Government Resource Planning (GRP) systems. For these governments, this has meant building capacity, increasing self-sufficiency, improving transparency, and ensuring public financial accountability.

FreeBalance has been providing GRP solutions and PFM reform initiatives to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste since 2000, Afghanistan since 2001, and Uganda since 2009. 

Watch the Speaking Out About Conflict – Part One interviews >>

 Watch the Speaking Out About Conflict – Part Two interviews >>

Just read an article about the 33 Haitian orphans that may have been abducted as part of an illicit adoption scheme. Once rescued, on January 20, 2010 the Haitian Social Ministry entrusted those 33 children (aged three months to twelve years) to the care of SOS Children’s Villages.

FreeBalance would just like to extend a huge and heartfelt thank you to SOS Children’s Villages for continuing its extraordinary work in Haiti.

At an event last month, we invited Boyd McBride, National Director of SOS Villages Canada to speak to our employees and our worldwide customers. It was a very emotional and uplifting presentation.

Watch Boyd McBride talking about the situation in Haiti >> 

We have also been involved with SOS Children’s Villages, most notably in Sierra Leone where an SOS Children’s Village alumnus joined the FreeBalance team. FreeBalance is a For Profit Social Enterprise (FOPSE) and believes that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) must drive the way a company operates and runs its day to day operations.

 Learn more about SOS Children’s Villages >>