Financial Management Information Systems

?Financial Management Information Systems: 25 Years of World Bank Experience on What Works and What Doesn?t? was prepared as an updated and expanded version of the FMIS review report drafted in 2003, to highlight the achievements and challenges observed during the design and implementation of Bank funded FMIS projects since 1984.

Since 1984, the World Bank has financed 87 Financial Management Information System (FMIS) projects in 51 countries totaling over US $2.2 billion, of which US $938 million was for FMIS related information and communication technology (ICT) solutions. This study presents the World Bank’s experience with these investment operations to share the achievements and challenges observed, and provide guidance for improving the performance of future projects. The report is structured according to four overarching questions: • What historical patterns emerge from World Bank financed Treasury/FMIS projects? This includes an analysis of project scope, cost, duration, design, objectives, and ICT solutions, among other aspects. • How have such projects performed according to various criteria? • What are the key factors that contribute to the success and failure of projects? • What have we learned that could be useful for future projects? The findings of this report are primarily based on the 2010 FMIS Database, which includes 55 closed and 32 active FMIS projects implemented between 1984 and 2010 (7 pipeline projects are also analyzed in some sections). The data was gathered primarily from internal World Bank documents and sources, and complemented with interviews with project teams. The Database contains a rich set of operational data and performance ratings for the benefit of the World Bank task teams, government officials and other specialists involved in FMIS projects. Compared to the previously prepared draft FMIS report in 2003 (Dorotinsky and Cho), this study is based on a broader set of projects and documents in analyzing the performance and outputs of the FMIS projects, and presents more in-depth analysis of the success and failure factors. Based on the findings of the current study, the interventions of the World Bank in the design and implementation of FMIS solutions have been reasonably successful in most countries.

This study is the first attempt to explore the effects of Financial Management Information Systems on publishing open budget data and improving budget transparency, and develop some guidelines on relevant aspects. The findings of the study are expected to provide a comprehensive view of the current government practices.

Ready access to accurate and timely information for decision making is a paramount requirement for public sector managers to function effectively in a political environment where fiscal management comes under close scrutiny. This paper presents a methodology for use in developing an integrated network of systems to support the information requirements for economic management. Of particular importance is the concept of developing an information systems architecture that provides an overview of the systems network required to support fiscal management. The proposed architecture identifies the major component modules and the information linkages between these modules. This information architecture can also serve as a road map for systems implementation.

In the past decade, developing countries (DCs) have been encouraged to reform their public expenditure management systems and have increasingly embarked on major projects to computerize their government operations. Most popular among these have been projects to computerize government accounting and payment operations, by introducing government financial management information systems (FMISs). This paper investigates the reason for almost universal failure to implement and sustain FMISs in DCs. It starts with a review of the "received wisdom" in implementing these projects, and then analyzes problems in its application in the DC context to identify key factors to explain why FMIS projects have been so problematic. Based on the identified negative factors, suggestions for addressing them are offered in the hope of improving success rates.

The Handbook is a virtual encyclopedia of public financial management, written by topmost experts, many with a background in the IMF and World Bank. It provides the first comprehensive guide to the subject that has been published in more than ten years. The book is aimed at a broad audience of academics/students, government officials, development agencies and practitioners. It covers both bread-and-butter topics such as the macroeconomic and legal framework for budgeting, budget preparation and execution, procurement, accounting, reporting, audit and oversight, as well as specialist subjects such as government payroll systems, local government finance, fiscal transparency, the management of fiscal risks, sovereign wealth funds, the management of state-owned enterprises, and political economy aspects of budgeting. The book sets out numerous examples and case studies describing good practice in public financial management, and is highly relevant for use in both advanced and developing countries.