PEFA Report Shows Sierra Leone’s Progress in Multiple Indicators
The latest PEFA Assessment from the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability Secretariat shows that the Government of Sierra Leone has made good progress in many aspects of Public Financial Management (PFM) reform. While there is still work to be done, the government can be commended for its achievements despite the difficulties associated with the pandemic.
FreeBalance has worked with the Ministry of Finance (MoF) since 2004. The recent upgrade to Version 7 of the FreeBalance Accountability Suite™ was called out as one of the noteworthy achievements of Sierra Leone’s PFM reform agenda. As was the rollout of the upgraded FreeBalance system to 61 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the training on the newly implemented (GPPB) Government Performance Budgeting module.
Highlights
The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) maintained its ‘A’ rating in 9 indicators and was awarded 10 new ‘A’ scores, notably in the Predictability and Control in Budget Execution and Management and Assets and Liabilities indicators. The government also achieved 15 ‘B’ ratings, of which 5 are an improvement over the previous results. Overall, Sierra Leone improved its PFM performance in 22 indicators.
It is particularly pleasing to note that the Government of Sierra Leone was awarded an ‘A’ overall for budget classification and budget transfers, two key elements of the Transparency of Public Finances pillar. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite™ is the ideal solution for governments eager to improve governance, accountability and transparency.
One of the most important capabilities of Government Resource Planning (GRP) software, like the FreeBalance Accountability Suite™, is the flexibility of the Charts of Accounts (COA) functionality. The suite supports budget classification needs and standards like Government Financial Statistics (GFS), Common Functions of Government (COFOG) and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). A program segment in the Sierra Leone COA supports Activity-Based Costing (ABC) while tracking budgets and spending on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the National Development Plan. The multiple-year COA in the FreeBalance Accountability Suite™ has enabled the Government of Sierra Leone to adapt budget classifications to meet reform needs including upgrading from 27 to 33 digits.
“The new IFMIS version 7 with the updated Chart of Accounts (CoA) has the capacity to track expenditure based on economic, administrative, functional and program classifications, as well as the possibility to track expenditures according to gender.”
– 2022 PEFA Report
PEFA evaluators highlighted the commitment control and segregation of duties functionality in the FreeBalance Accountability Suite™ and scored the GoSL’s Financial Data Integrity as an ‘A’ thanks to the detailed audit trail, effective password management, and comprehensive authentication and authorization.
Sierra Leone PFM Improvements
The dramatic Public Financial Management improvements that Sierra Leone has made over time are clearly evident by comparing the country’s first PEFA Assessment in 2007 to the current results.
Sierra Leone has progressively activated PFM capabilities in line with improved capacity.
Conclusion
FreeBalance is proud to have helped to facilitate these great results and we look forward to assisting the Government of Sierra Leone with further modernization efforts.
To speak to a Public Financial Management expert about how to improve your country’s PEFA assessment, please get in touch.