Sustainable Public Financial Management

Last week, FreeBalance was invited to participate at a well-attended seminar in Lima, Peru on Treasury Management in Latin America. More than 17 countries participated. The seminar was co-organized and supported by the IMF, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank. The introduction of new government integrated financial management information systems was an important element on the seminar’s agenda. FreeBalance was well represented at the event and delivered a presentation on the benefits and advantages of the FreeBalance Accountability Suite, the Government Resource Planning (GRP) solution. Learn more about the event >>

Notes from Not-Quite the Front Lines in Bishkek

Doug Hadden, VP Products

There is uncertainty in life. Confusion. You can’t always trust what you see or what you hear. This was how it was a little over a week ago in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan. A few hundred meters from my hotel and the Ministry of Finance. I could hear explosions and some gunfire. 

Local people were not panicked.  The Ministry of Finance staff operated as if there was a fire drill – with confidence. And, the hotel operated normally while mounted police waited near the entrance. However, the television news from the BBC spoke of chaos and crisis.  

History was unfolding hundreds of meters away in a very tranquil way. There seemed to be a sense of cautious optimism that does not make for sensational news!

Appetite for Reform

Kyrgyzstan in rated 162 out of 180 countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index in 2009. Corruption has been described as one of the major reasons for unrest.

This may make some people think that the Government lacks interest in Public Financial Management Reform and transparency. This was not the impression that I got meeting stakeholders with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. Senior public servants emphasized to me that they have a significant appetite for reform. They want more effective and transparent government. They want to learn more good practices from other countries.

FreeBalance in Kyrgyzstan

FreeBalance is implementing the FreeBalance Accountability Suite for the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. The first phase is ambitious covering budget preparation, commitment accounting, budget controls, treasury management, human resources, payroll and financial disclosure.  The project is operating on time and within budget. I think that the main reasons for the success to date comes from the commitment of public servants in the Government. This project is “owned” by the government and is seen as a critical factor to improving development in Kyrgyzstan. There is joint management of risk factors. Public servants are quick to provide details of the current processes and needs. And, all stakeholders are focused on ensuring that there are no delays in the project plan.

FreeBalance expands public financial management presence in Africa

Ottawa, Canada (April 12, 2010) – FreeBalance, a global software company that helps governments leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth, has been selected to implement the FreeBalance Accountability Suite for the Government of the Republic of Liberia. FreeBalance has recently announced agreements with the Government of Uganda and MCA Namibia. FreeBalance is uniquely positioned to support public financial management reforms in Africa. FreeBalance has successfully rolled out modern public financial management systems in challenging circumstances: limited connectivity, low bandwidth, lack of electrical power, and low capacity.

The Government of the Republic of Liberia will deploy the FreeBalance Accountability Suite to drive government modernization through effective fiscal management. The Government will automate all public finance budget transactions. Budget preparation, expenditure controls, procurement, monitoring, reporting, payroll and human resource management will be implemented. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is an automated system that provides better expenditure controls and improved transparency in the budget cycle. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite integrates all government budget, revenue and expenditure information.

“The Government of the Republic of Liberia is committed to advancing key governance reform initiatives in support of its reconstruction efforts,” said the Honorable Tarnue Mawolo, Deputy Minister Administration. “The FreeBalance Accountability Suite will serve as a tool to support reform initiatives and will provide the foundation for economic growth and transparency. By building a more transparent government, public trust in the Government of Liberia will only increase.”

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite will be implemented in five sites including the Ministry of Finance, Civil Service Agency, General Auditing Commission and it will connect to the Central Bank of Liberia. This implementation includes the FreeBalance Public Financials Management, Government Performance Management, Public Expenditure Management and Civil Service Management. The FreeBalance Civil Service Management payroll functionality will manage a civil service workforce of 40,000 employees. FreeBalance will be assisted by its local partner, FutureCom, for the provision of local support and implementation services.

“We are honoured to work with the Government of the Republic of Liberia as it modernizes its public financial management system,” said Manuel Pietra, President & CEO of FreeBalance. “The people of Liberia will quickly realize the benefits of an automated, integrated GRP software system. FreeBalance will also ensure that the Liberia GRP system is sustainable with a low total cost of ownership.”

FreeBalance customers span the globe and the user community includes public financial management professionals in 18 countries, including Namibia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Southern Sudan, Timor-Leste, Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Iraq. 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.

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