Public Financial Management
Consultants
Stephen Akroyd »Ashley Schofield »
Ed Humphrey »
Mark Essex »
Clara Picanyol »
Tim Cammack »
Sarah Holloway »
Ian Lang »
Mark Watson »
Sanga Sangarabalan »
Our approach to Public Financial Management draws on influences both within and outside government. It starts from an understanding of the institutional and organisational requirements of a functioning public sector budget process and financial management and reporting system. It recognises that the budget is a political document whose effective development and implementation requires a modern government to possess a number of attributes, including capabilities in the following broad areas:
- Development of an agreed set of policy objectives, management mechanisms and operating rules – particularly around financial management – for the delivery of public services based on a realistic assessment of the operating environment and the associated delivery costs.
- Sustaining a framework of financial accountability to report on public sector expenditure and performance.
- Maintaining transparency and reporting procedures which allow relevant stakeholders, including the legislature, the market, civil society and aid donors to play their role in monitoring government performance.
- Providing a wider incentive structure in the civil service which is supportive of financial discipline, organisational and managerial performance.
These issues set the agenda for PFM reform, which therefore requires familiarity with the machinery of government, skills in institutional and organisational reform and capacity building, and understanding of public sector economics, and accounting and audit skills. OPM has been at the forefront of developments in this field with a strong track record of research, operational experience and evaluation work focussed on PFM in developing countries. We are involved in a wide range of assignments, including: