Bulgaria - Country Financial Accountability Assessment
Estache, Antonio | De Rus, Gines [editors]
Bulgaria's ambitious program of reforms in several areas, including public financial management (PFM), focuses greatly on its entry into the European Union (EU). Thus, the country has a well developed system, and structure of financial management, that relies heavily on information technology (such as in the area of cash management), and has independent external audits, and parliamentary oversight committees. Although many laws, and institutional arrangements have been established, institutions still need technical assistance, and training to absorb the methods, and international best practices. Bulgaria has significantly reduced the number of extra-budgetary funds, thereby improving the budget's comprehensiveness. It has adopted a pilot programmatic approach in three ministries, strengthening the budget-policy link, and, created a Treasury Single Account to service all budgetary institutions. Moreover, the country has a strong internal audit body in the form of the Public Internal Financial Control Agency (PIFCA), and, external audits are performed by the National Audit Office, which submits its reports to the National Assembly, with adequate operational independence, and resources. A key theme in this Country Financial Accountability Assessment (CFAA) and recommendations, is the need to build capacity to implement the laws and regulations, while further recommendations address, by and large: development guidelines for planning and evaluating public investments database, and data recovery plans; establishment of a government-wide information technology (IT) function to set benchmarks, and develop an IT strategy; revision of the provisions regarding PIFCA's responsibility to introduce internal control policies, and establish preventive control systems; development of training programs in risk assessment; and, development of comprehensive strategies, guidelines and training programs for auditing revenues, and IT-based systems.
Show more [+] Less [-]Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by World Bank
