Financial management info system to enhance transactions with gov’t offices

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MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has issued an executive order urging all government offices and local government units (LGUs) to adopt and implement an integrated financial management information system (IFMIS) in their transactions with the general public. 

Executive Order (EO) No. 29, which was released to the media on Friday, seeks to improve bureaucratic efficiency by capitalizing on digitalization efforts to ensure fast and efficient delivery of services to the public. 

Aside from the national government agencies and the LGUs, the order also urges government-owned or -controlled corporations to adopt and implement an IFMIS in their transactions.

 The President also ordered the creation of a Public Financial Management (PFM) Committee, composed of representatives from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Finance (DOF), Commission on Audit (COA), and the Bureau of Treasury (BTr), to help in the transition to full digitalization of the PFM processes via the IFMIS. 

According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), the EO was issued based on the recommendation made by the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) for the Digital Infrastructure group to help promote efficiency, transparency and ease of doing business with the government.

 Under the EO, the PFM Committee will conduct policy and process review of key PFM processes, including:

-budget management and its execution

-cash management

-accounting and reporting to pinpoint bottlenecks

-update corresponding policies

-reengineer PFM processes and maximize the use of financial systems to ensure seamless government transactions

-devise a strategic plan through the development of a PFM Reforms Roadmap to expedite the development of IFMIS, while ensuring harmonization of policies across oversight agencies. 

The PFM Committee will also come up with a five-year plan for the development and implementation of the IFMIS that links national government agencies with DBM, DOF, COA, and BTr; oversee, coordinate, and develop integration, simplification, harmonization of the government’s financial management processes and information systems; and, develop, oversee, and conduct comprehensive mid-term review of the implementation of PFM Reforms Roadmap. 

The EO also orders the committee to “shepherd and champion the passage of supporting legislation in Congress; coordinate budgetary and donor funding to support PFM reform efforts; provide comprehensive annual reports on all project milestones, findings, and recommendations to the Office of the President; and, issue necessary implementing policies, mechanisms, and procedures to carry out the objectives of the Order.”

The committee is also directed to issue guidelines pertaining to the transitional arrangement to be followed by the concerned government agencies in the full adoption of the IFMIS. 

“The Department of Information and Communications Technology is hereby directed to provide technical and policy support in the development and implementation of the IFMIS,” the order read. 

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