Three years have passed since the Slovak Ministry of Finance joined the Center of Excellence in Finance’s Governing Board. How does Southeast Europe benefit from it?
More meetings, more learning activities, better institutional relations, new channels for cooperation, a deepened partnership, and tangible results in implementation of public financial management (PFM) reforms. As strategic partners, the Slovak Ministry of Finance and the Center of Excellence in Finance prepare way for countries that seek improvements in public finance.
Who is who
Sound public finance management and good governance in partner countries is one of the main objectives of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic within the framework of the Slovak development cooperation. Needless to say, public finance management reform is widely regarded as one of the most successful areas in Slovakia ́s economic transition. The expertise has been shared in the international arena, e.g. via Public Finance for Development Programme (in partnership with the UNDP) or, more recently, thanks to the cooperation with the Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF). CEF is an international organization with the mission to support capacity development for finance officials in the South East Europe through learning.
The Slovak Ministry of Finance and the CEF share common objectives in development cooperation, which is capacity building and institutional building of finance ministries in Southeast Europe. This cooperation builds on the donor´s development team experience and the Slovak MoF public finance management expertise.
Results one can see
The cooperation between the two institutions dates back to 2010. The Slovak MoF experts lend a helping hand in designing and implementing peer-to-peer learning activities for finance officials in Southeast Europe, and they also share lessons learned with them through written various channels (case studies, articles and videos). The cooperation started with in-kind expertise contributions. It has become more intense since 2018 when the Slovak MoF started to cooperate with the CEF on capacity building delivery directly through long-term bilateral projects.
PACT 3 Montenegro (2018-2020) aims at supporting the Government of Montenegro in transition towards accrual accounting and adoption of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). In the period between autumn 2018 and spring 2020, the PACT program helped train the third generation (G3) of up to 40 students at the certificate level. Localization of the Training for Public Accountants in Montenegro (read more) serves as a shining example of the project achievements that both CEF and the Slovak MoF are proud of. FISR – Case of Moldova (2020 – 2021) is a project aimed at supporting public officials to improve their ability for comprehensive assessment of fiscal implications of structural reforms.
Are you wondering what the partnership between the Slovak Ministry of Finance and the Center of Excellence in Finance looks like in action? You can watch the Management and Accounting for Non-financial Assets webinar on accounting for non-financial assets in the Slovak public sector with a focus on state property. If you are further interested in introducing evidence-based budgeting, you can turn to a digital story available here.