Stocktaking of Public Sector Accounting and Reporting Environment in PULSAR Countries

Data collection and analysis of key elements of public financial management in 13 countries in Europe and Central Asia for the World Bank PULSAR (Public Sector Accounting and Reporting) Program

At a glance

Project leader : Christoph Schuler
Deputy of project leader : Dr. Sandro Fuchs
Project team : Prof. Andreas Bergmann, Pascal Horni
Project budget : CHF 49'000
Project status : completed
Funding partner : EU and other international programmes (World Bank / PULSAR Program)
Project partner : World Bank / PULSAR Program
Contact person : Christoph Schuler

Description

This study analyzes the Public Sector Accounting (PSA) systems in the PULSAR region, which consists of fourteen jurisdictions of the Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership, including, in alphabetical order Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina Republic of Srpska, Croatia, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Ukraine. The objective of the study is to take stock of the current PSA environment by identifying strengths, challenges and opportunities within the PSA environment in all PULSAR program countries. The data for the study was collected through a comprehensive online survey, focusing on the current status of PSA systems and reform plans. Due to the self-assessment design of the survey, the collected data can only represent the information compiled by each jurisdiction.

The study shows that the current PSA environment in the PULSAR region is in a sound state that presents multifaceted opportunities for future PSA reforms. Nevertheless, seizing these opportunities would be facilitated by specific capacity building activities, including education, training, certification for staff, but also external technical expertise. In this regard, all PULSAR countries have recognized the value and importance of modern financial management IT systems and that they are a precondition for a successful PSA reform process. Moreover, the region as a whole reached the conclusion that PSA reforms need to be addressed in the wider context of an integrated Public Financial Management (PFM) system including Budget, Audit or Government Finance Statistics (GFS) functions and its respective institutions within the government.

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