PFM Board

Medium Term Expenditure Framework => IT systems applied to PFM? => Topic started by: Albani on May 08, 2026, 12:29:04 GMT

Title: PFM Digitalization: Technology Reform or Governance Reform?
Post by: Albani on May 08, 2026, 12:29:04 GMT

HI everyone - after quite some time away from being active in PFM Board discussions, I wanted to provide some thoughts and question marks regarding an increasingly important topic in Public Finance Management (PFM):  digitalization and its relationship with governance and PFM performance.

Digitalization is now becoming a central priority in Governance and PFM.  Governments are investing heavily in:

• IFMIS platforms
• e-procurement systems
• AI tools
• interoperability frameworks
• digital reporting, and
• data analytics

At the same time, frameworks such as PEFA continue to assess core dimensions of PFM performance:

• Budget reliability
• Transparency
• Asset and liability management
• Policy based fiscal strategy and budgeting
• Accounting and reporting
• External scrutiny and audit

This raises an important question:

Are current digitalization reforms actually strengthening PFM performance, or are they mainly modernizing administrative processes?

Some questions worth discussing:

• Should PFM digitalization be designed around technology architecture or around governance outcomes?
• Are interoperability and data governance recieving enough attention?
• Can AI-based tools function effectively where financial data structures are inconsistent?
• Should PEFA assessments place greater focus on digital maturity and system integration
• Are digital reforms helping institutions make better decisions, or mainly improving reporting interfaces?
• Are government investing sufficiently in institutional processes before investing in technology?
• Can digitalization improve accountability if underlying controls and data quality remain weak
• Are donor-supported digital projects sometimes creating parallel systems instead of integrated public financial governance

Përhaps the broader issue is this:

Can public finance management truly become "digital" without first becomming institutionally integrated?

Interested to hear perspectives from colleagues working in:

• PFM
• treasury
• budgeting
• audit
• procurement
• Governance Technology, and
• PEFA-related reforms

Looking forward to hearing different perspectives and practical experiences from colleagues across institutions and countries.