MTEF's and an IFMIS's
An MTEF aims to replace the traditional annual budget agreed by parliament with a three year budget which sets out the government medium term financial plans. An IFMIS aims to provide an integrated IT or computerised financial package which is used as a common system across government, including, in the more ambitious schemes, federal, state and local governments.
Public financial management reform in developing countries local solutions for local people? (PDF document)
This paper reviews the literature on the implementation of these two key reforms in three Anglophone African countries. It concludes that due to the economic conditions in many developing countries, the World Bank, aid agencies and their international consultants wield considerable influence on the priorities and approach to public sector financial management. Continued care is needed to ensure that their prescriptions are actually relevant and appropriate for the needs of each particular country. Especially given the past record of limited success with the implementation of MTEFs, IFMISs and other major reforms, the need for such approaches and the evidence for their successful implementation in other countries should be rigorously reviewed. The traditional public sector concerns with regularity and probity will, if anything, become more important when major reform initiatives are being considered. Small scale investment in basic internal financial controls may often bring greater returns than large investment in innovative reforms with their associated significant risks of failure.