Global Workshop, Financial Accountability and Tracparency-PACT

United Nations Development Programme

Management Development and Governance Division Global Workshop Financial Accountability and Transparency* New York, 24 - 25 July 1997 P A C T - Programme for ACcountability & Transparency Sponsorship and Purpose: The Programme for Accountability and Transparency (PACT) will be sponsoring a global workshop on financial accountability and transparency. Over-all, the PACT Global Workshop aims to provide a forum for exchange of experiences, facilitate learning from each other, and share information about on-going and planned activities in accountability and transparency. The PACT Global Workshop also hopes to disseminate UNDP's corporate policy on global networks, on developing tools and pilot-testing of innovative approaches in selected countries, on funding of its activities, and on developing key partnerships with other stakeholders in accountability and transparency.

Background: Under the public sector management and accountability sub-programme of the UNDP Management Development and Governance Division, PACT is a global initiative that supports selected recipient countries through technical assistance in improving systems of financial accountability and management. This programme also includes support in the area of debt management, improvement of integrity in governance (formerly known as combat and prevention of corruption), and aid coordination. PACT works strategically with other stakeholders in accountability, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, bi-lateral donors, the private sector, academia, and other international organizations.

Objectives: The PACT Global Workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to:

Discuss experiences and best practices in the area of financial accountability and transparency in the context of good governance for sustainable growth and equity.

Identify factors that facilitate or impede financial accountability and transparency.

Identify existing and potential areas of intra- and inter-regional cooperation in promoting accountability and transparency.

Enhance the understanding of accountability and transparency as a key to good governance and ultimately, achieving the goals of SHD.

Accountability begins and ends with each one of us here present; accountability without individual responsibility has no teeth. Fortunately, there is no choice. Accountability is not entirely about re-engineering; it is more about getting people to change. ORGANIZATION AND OUTCOME:

Meeting Structure:

Following the opening ceremony, and information regarding the management of PACT's Global Secretariat, the Workshop will concentrate on the following:

substantial issues such as: improvement of integrity in governance, records management in the public sector, and development of accounting standards;

hands-on experience/best practices in: Mongolia (an economy-in-transition), in Africa, Asia, Arab States and Eastern Europe;

pilot-testing of mission guidelines (CONTACT);

a panel discussion on accountability.

Participants: These will include representatives of key stakeholders in accountability: recipient countries, bilateral donors, international financial institutions (IFIs), private sector and Big Six management/accounting firms, global networks and civil society organizations, and UN agencies.

Official Language: English

Collaborating Organizations: These will include the International Council on Archives (ICA), the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Eastern and Southern African Association of Accountants General (ESAAG), Transparency International (TI), the World Bank (WB), and UN Agencies

Electronic Networking: Electronic communications will be utilized to encourage broad participation in discussions. All conference documents will be posted on the UNDP Management Development and Governance Division (MDGD) Home Page (http://www.undp.org/undp/bpps/mdgd/pact). All participants will receive an electronic version of all the Workshop proceedings within 3 weeks after the conclusion.

Expected Outcome: The Workshop is expected to result in a better and improved understanding of:

the objectives and focus of PACT;

the complementarity of budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, auditing, and records management;

the pilot-testing of innovative approaches in selected countries (application of the CONTACT- mission guidelines);

integrity improvement;

building alliances with other stakeholders in accountability and transparency.

Further Information: PACT Global Secretariat, Management Development & Governance Division/BPPS, UNDP, One UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, Tel: (212) 906-5349, Fax: (212) 906-6471, Email: pauline.tamesis@undp.org

Note on the Internationational Conference on Governance for Sustainable Growth and Equity (28-30 July 1997, New York): The PACT Global Workshop on Financial Accountability and Transparency precedes the UNDP sponsored Internationational Conference on Governance for Sustainable Growth and Equity. The over-all objective of the main UNDP Conference is to provide a forum for representatives of governments, parliaments, local authorities, civil society organizations (CSOs) and UN system agencies to share experiences and best practices in governance for sustainable growth and equity.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, and I have promises to keep And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep" -- Robert Frost P A C T - PROGRAMME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY Global Workshop Financial Accountability and Transparency New York, 24 - 25 July 1997 Day 1 - Thursday, 24 July 1997 Morning Session Introductory Remarks Workshop Coordinator

Opening Speech Anders Wijkman, Assistant Administrator

Director UNDP/BPPS

Programme for Accountability & Fred Schenkelaars

Transparency (PACT): Events, Organization, Special Adviser and PACT Global Coordinator

Workplan, and Funding

Country/Region Presentations:

1. Mongolia Experience Luvsandash Dashdorj, Paul Oquist and

Anthony Hegarty

2. Africa Experience Kjeld Elkjaer and Ato Ghartey

3. Tanzania - AMAP R.P. Mwasha and Ken Hellerup

Afternoon Session Country/Region Presentations (continued)

4. Bangladesh Mr. M. Hafiz Uddin Khan

5. Yemen Accountant General of Yemen

6. Slovak Republic Stefan Balejik

Mission Guidelines on Financial Anthony Hegarty

Accountability and Transparency

Wrap-Up of the Day Workshop Coordinator

Reception

Day 2 - Friday, 25 July 1997 Morning Session Improvement of Integrity in Governance Susan Rose-Ackerman & Clay Wescott

Records Management in the Public Sector Anne Thurston

Accounting Standards Project John Gruner and Stephen Walker

Afternoon Session Panel Discussion

From accounting to accountability Ato Ghartey

From "audire" to modern auditing Anthony Hegarty

From the abacus to the chip Anne Thurston

Wrap-Up of the Workshop PACT - management team, and Workshop Coordinator

Closing Remarks G. Shabbir Cheema, Director, MDGD/BPPS

THEMES FOR DISCUSSION:

COUNTRY PRESENTATIONS ON FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY Model of Financial Accountability for an Economy in Transition:

Mongolia Experience

Based on a recent PACT-mission to Mongolia, this session will present a suggested blue-print for national capacity-building in budgeting, accounting and auditing for an economy in transition. The presentation will be made by Mr. Luvsandash Dashdorj (Head of the Fiscal Policy Dept. of the Ministry of Finance of Mongolia), Mr. Paul Oquist (UNDP Senior Adviser in Management Development), and Mr. Anthony Hegarty (consultant and author of CONTACT - Country Assessment in Accountability & Transparency).

Country-based experiences:

Tanzania

Mr. R.P. Mwasha and Mr. Ken Hellerup will walk us through the Aid Management & Accountability Programme (AMAP), a multi-donor funded national programme to improve the capacity of Tanzania to manage both externally and internally raised funds. Mr. R.P. Mwasha is the Assistant Commissioner of the Ministry of Finance in Tanzania and the AMAP National Programme Coordinator, while Mr. Hellerup is the Senior Technical Adviser and Team leader of AMAP.

Bangladesh

M. Haffiz Uddin Khan, Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh will share information on their government's efforts in financial accountability and transparency.

Yemen

The Accountant General of Yemen will share information on their government's efforts in financial accountability and transparency.

Slovak Republic

Stefan Balejik, President of the Supreme Audit Office of the Slovak Republic will share information on their government's efforts in setting-up systems in financial accountability and management. As host country for the joint MDGD/PACT and RBEC regional workshop for financial accountability in governance, to be held 11-13 September 1997 in Bratislava, this presentation will hopefully provide a practical example in establishing a regional strategy for accountability.

REGIONAL INITIATIVES IN ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY African Experience

Mr. Kjeld Elkjaer, PACT's representative in Harare, Zimbabwe will walk us through his first full year of hands-on experience as PACT's Regional Programme Specialist in Eastern and Southern African countries. This session will focus on issues and lessons learned in establishing a regional programme, setting-up the national focal point system, and collaborating with other key stakeholders in accountability: government, bi-lateral donors, IFIs and international organizations. Mr. Ato Ghartey, Programme Specialist, PACT-Global Secretariat will also share his views and experiences on financial accountability and transparency in the Africa region, drawing from his long-time career as accountant-general and controller of the Republic of Ghana.

ISSUE-BASED DISCUSSIONS Facilitating National Action:

Mission Guidelines on Financial Accountability and Transparency

Mr. Anthony Hegarty will present CONTACT Country Assessment in Accountability and Transparency: a newly-developed tool that will facilitate conduct of missions in all phases of financial accountability and transparency, and aid key stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and to make recommendations for capacity-building.

Accountability is like a semantic family tree: the trunk is called Governance a main branch is Financial Accountability which feeds other branches such as Budgeting, Accounting, Auditing and Records Management Analyzing the Political, Legislative and Economic Implications of Accountability and Transparency:

Improvement of Integrity in Governance

Prof. Susan Rose Ackerman of the Yale Law School will present a strategy-paper on Integrity Improvement in view of, among others, UNDP's mandate on poverty reduction. This presentation is envisioned to be highly participatory and an interactive discussion on the presentation will be greatly encouraged.

Clay Wescott, Sr. Programme Manager of UNDP-Fiji will provide a brief overview of the country office's initiatives on corruption.

Envisioning Information Systems of the Future: Records Management in the Public Sector

Dr. Anne Thurston, Executive Director of IRMT (International Records Management Trust, London) will deliver a presentation on new approaches to the problems of managing public sector recorded information, both paper-based and electronic, in developing countries. This session will inform participants of IRMT-led research and projects in Africa that aim to empower local professionals in managing required information services for good government and accountability.

Development of Accounting Standards: Public Sector Committee (PSC) Model

John Gruner, Director General and Stephen Walker, Technical Manager of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) will provide a brief overview of the Public Sector Committee (PSC) work program, in particular the Accounting Standards Project.

Coherence and Complementarity in Accountability:

Panel Discussion

Accountability at the dawn of the third millennium; developments during the 20th century which began as the Century of Total War, and grew into the Atomic and Space Era, and seems to be ending as the Age of Entertainment and Communication.

Lead-in story:

Centuries ago, merchant ship captains knew all too well what bottom line accountability meant. They were effectively the CEO's in the age of exploration, the golden 16th, 17th or 18th centuries. And were they held accountable! Their responsibilities, in many ways, make the struggles of 20th century venture capitalists look like a picnic. Merchant ship captains determined to a great extent, the wealth of nations, just as captains of industry do today. The difference is, if their heads rolled, they really did.

Prof. Ato Ghartey will chair the panel discussion and will review the ambiguous and amorphous use of words and terms associated with accounting/accountability, and the lack of direction of the destination or boundaries which create enormous conceptual and operational problems.

Anthony Hegarty will walk us through the development in auditing from biblical times to the year 2000: from "audire" and the man who listens to those who are deemed accountable, and whose mind was at the same time his methodology, to performance and computer-assisted auditing.

Dr. Anne Thurston will present records management as a public sector accountability function: in governments around the world the public sector is undergoing a process of reform, re-engineering or renewal involving fundamental changes in public administration structures, personnel and processes and systematic improvement of operational performance. These changes require a high level of organizational effectiveness and are heavily dependent upon the ability to access information. Although public sector reform initiatives increasingly include the development of computerized systems, there is still a serious gap in their capacity to manage these systems and, even more fundamentally, to manage paper-based recorded information. Dr. Thurston will also explain the distinction and/or similarity between records management and archives.

P A C T - PROGRAMME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY Global Workshop Financial Accountability and Transparency New York, 24 - 25 July 1997 List of Invited Participants/Speakers*:

Governments

Asia

1. Luvsandash Dashdorj*, Head of Fiscal Policy Department, Ministry of Finance, MONGOLIA

2. Mr. M. Hafiz Uddin Khan, Comptroller & Auditor General, BANGLADESH (confirmed)

3. Accountant General, PAKISTAN (?)

Africa

4. Reckford Kampanje, Deputy Accountant General, Ministry of Finance, MALAWI

5. R.P. Mwasha*, Assistant Commissioner, Ministry of Finance, TANZANIA

6. Ken Hellerup*, Sr. Technical Adviser and Team Leader, Aid Management & Accountability Programme, TANZANIA

7. C. Bitarbe, Head, UN Agencies Section Coordinator NATCAP II Project, UGANDA (confirmed)

8. J.M. Tembo, Deputy Accountant General, Ministry of Finance, ZAMBIA

9. Stephen S. Mtonga, Head, FAMS Implementation Unit, HRIT, Ministry of Health, ZAMBIA

10. Jerry Gutu, Accountant General, Ministry of Finance, ZIMBABWE (confirmed)

Western Asia

11. Accountant General, YEMEN

12. Abdel-Rahman Abdalla, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

CEE & CIS

13. Stephan Balejik, President, Supreme Audit Office, SLOVAK REPUBLIC (confirmed)

International Organizations, Specialized Institutions, Academe

1. Giorgio Clemente, Member, European Court of Auditors, LUXEMBOURG (confirmed)

2. Donald Drach, Dep. Director, Office of Int'l Audit Orgzns Liaison, US General Accounting Office, USA

3. Richard Gagne, Director of Programs, INTOSAI Development Initiative, CANADA

4. John Gruner*, Director General, International Federation of Accountants, USA

5. Anthony Hegarty*, Director, Botswana Centre for Accounting Studies, BOTSWANA (confirmed)

6. Charles Kecskemeti, Secretary General, International Council of Archives, PARIS (cannot attend)

7. Jeremy Pope, Transparency International, GERMANY (confirmed, PACT to fund)

8. Susan Rose-Ackerman*, Yale University Law School, USA (confirmed)

9. Harm Rozema, Head, Audit Department EDF, European Court of Auditors, USA (replaced)

10. AnnThurston*, Executive Director, IRMT, Int'l Records Management Trust, UK (confirmed)

11. Stephen Walker*, Technical Manager, International Federation of Accountants, USA

12. Jos A.M. Willenborg, International Markets, KPMG Management Consulting, THE NETHERLANDS

13. Tobias Witteveen, Secretary General, Netherlands Court of Audit, THE NETHERLANDS

International Financial Institutions

1. Randolph Andersen, Director, Loan Department, The World Bank, USA

2. Peter Dean, Sr. Public Finance Economist, The World Bank, USA (cannot attend)

3. Arigapudi Premchand, Assistant Director, Fiscal Affairs Dept., International Monetary Fund, USA (confirmed)

Development Cooperation Agencies

1. Finn Balslev, Head, Finance Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DENMARK (cannot attend)

2. Bodil Mortensen, Counselor, Aid Accountability, DENMARK (cannot attend)

3. Olav Rex Christensen, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DENMARK (confirmed)

4. Rolf Sorum, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Head of Section, Economic Affairs, NORAD, NORWAY

5. Per Lundell, Swedish International Development Agency, SWEDEN (cannot attend)

6. Paul Zwetsloot, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, THE NETHERLANDS

7. Peter de Haan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, THE NETHERLANDS

8. Marja Nordfors, Finnish International Development Agency, FINLAND

9. Representative, Mission of Germany to the United Nations, GERMANY

10. Representative, Mission of Italy to the United Nations, ITALY

11. Representative, Mission of Japan to the United Nations, JAPAN

12. Overseas Development Administration, UK

13. Guy Samzun, Directorate-General for Development, European Union, BELGIUM (confirmed)

14. Everette Orr*, Regional Inspector General, US Agency for International Development, USA (cannot attend)

UN Agencies

1. Guido Bertucci, Direcotr, UNDDSMS (cannot attend - Cheryl Larsen to represent)

2. G. Shabbir Cheema, Director, MDGD/BPPS

3. Soule Funna, RBA

4. Benjamin Brown, RBAP

5. Ricarda Rieger, RBAS

6. Jose Manuel Sucre, RBLAC

7. Philippe Elghouayel, Chief, Division II, RBEC

8. Paul Oquist*, Sr. Adviser in Management Development, UNDP

9. Clay Wescott, Sr. Programme Manager, UNDP Fiji

10. Roswitha Newels, Programme Management Officer, UN OPS, WAASE (confirmed)

11. Fred Schenkelaars*, Special Adviser and PACT Global Secretariat Coordinator , UNDP MDGD

12. Ato Ghartey*, Programme Specialist, PACT-Global Secretariat, UNDP/MDGD

13. Kjeld Elkjaer*, Regional Programme Specialist, PACT-Harare, UNDP/MDGD

14. Pauline Tamesis, PACT-Global Secretariat, UNDP/MDGD

There is a growing international consensus concerning the role good governance plays in the attainment of sustainable human development (SHD). This has been demonstrated at each of the recent UN Conferences, which have examined issues of environment, social development, population, women, human settlements and food security. UNDP has been mandated by its governing body to develop national capacities to promote and articulate the concept and practice of SHD, with emphasis on poverty alleviation, sustainable livelihoods, gender equality and environmental sustainability. Good governance is the primary means to address these concerns. UNDP's recently published policy paper on governance defines governance as the "exercise of political, economic and administrative authority in the management of country's affairs at all levels". Good governance has many attributes. It is effective, participatory, transparent, accountable, equitable and promotes the rule of law. Governance includes the state, but transcends it by taking in the private sector and civil society. All three domains are critical for sustaining human development. The state creates a conducive political and legal environment, the private sector generates jobs and income and civil society facilitates political and social interaction and mobilizes groups to participate in economic, social and political activities.

The shift toward SHD as the commonly accepted paradigm for development is still in the making. But policy-makers in more and more countries are reaching the unavoidable conclusion that development must be people-centered, equitable distributed and environmentally and socially sustainable. As demonstrated by recent Human Development Reports, many countries have managed to improve human development despite economic hardship. However, this progress in human development will not hold unless reinforced by economic growth. New evidence and theory suggest that growth and equity need not be contradictory goals. And there is strong historical evidence that heavy national investment in improving skills and meeting basic social needs has been a springboard for sustained economic growth over the decades. Many countries have been able to foster creation of a 'virtuous cycle' where progress in human development has been stimulated by economic growth as well as contributing to it.

However, experiences in many developing countries have also shown that there are no automatic links between economic growth and human development. But when these links are forged with the policies, procedures and determination of good governance, they can be mutually reinforcing and economic growth will effectively and rapidly improve human development.

Main Conference

The over-all objective of the main UNDP Conference is to provide a forum for representatives of governments, parliaments, local authorities, civil society organizations (CSOs) and UN system agencies to share experiences and best practices in governance for sustainable growth and equity.