IFMIS IMPLEMENTATION IN MALAWI BY RECKFORD KAMPANJE ACCOUNTANT GENERAL ‘Implement it’

BUSINESS CASE Malawi started IFMIS implementation in 1995 Business case was primarily expenditure control Implementation has been supported by Government, World Bank and DFID IFMIS has been a largely internally rather than externally driven change

IFMIS OBJECTIVES AS DESIGNED To improve and strengthen financial control and management of public funds To provide timely and accurate budgeting and financial information across government To provide a standardized integrated financial management reporting system across government To provide the Government of Malawi wide upgraded and state of art computerized accounting system

DESIGN Design study was undertaken Government did more than 50% of the work for the consultant Chart of Accounts reviewed Procurement undertaken using the world bank procedures CODA Financials procured under a turnkey arrangement IFMIS project governance structures were developed Public Finance Act revised Phased implementation adopted – 5 pilot sites

IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES - I After design study, a supplier was contracted Termination of first contractor New supplier contracted to resolve issues of the first supplier New supplier operating off shore for implementation activities New supplier just a supplier of software and without hardware & implementation Supplier not knowledgeable in public financial and accounting processes and highly commercial Chart of Accounts not standardised Non strategic purchase of licences – over 800 concurrent licences purchased in the pilot implementation only 10 in use across Gov’t System not adequately parameterised (some modules not properly set up)

IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES - II Training not properly focused and planned Changes in key Gov’t staff – over 5 project managers, over 3 Accountant Generals! Change management not properly planned – attitude and culture quite negative and a challenge Long implementation period – loss of institutional memory and creation of impatience for change Internal expertise capacity a major challenge Funding problems – implementation activities and recurrent costs not funded Uncoordinated system implementation efforts – AGD, Local Governments, Ministries with different systems

IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES - III Business Processes Accounts preparation processes still largely manual including the AGD Decentralized payment process for ministries Bank accounts reform not properly undertaken before implementation Audit dimension not planned for Budget module not developed

IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES - IV IT Implementation Decentralized ministry database replication strategy a failure. Centralized processing at the AGD a much better option. Government WAN management a major challenge Technology has become obsolete with no replacement policy in place especially servers and computers IT implementation drove the business process implementation No planning for Disaster recovery and detailed backup procedures

CURRENT EFFORTS - I Change in Government has resulted into change in political will and commitment to complete IFMIS implementation A peer review of the implementation has been undertaken to identify outstanding issues, lessons learnt and development of a strategy to enable commencement of the rollout Undertake business process reengineering to eliminate redundant activities Significant change management activities to change culture and attitude will be critical Leverage investment made in licences

CURRENT EFFORTS -II Change the AGD structure to recognize changes resulting from processes and skills Improve procurement and contract management Review the classification/Chart of Accounts structures and ensure harmonization across Government Integrate all systems in Government – payroll, financial management, Local Governments, Revenue Authority and Reserve Bank Strengthen use of centralized database architecture rather than a decentralized architecture

Lessons Learnt ! Manage the contractor and ensure contractor has financial management and accounting knowledge Plan for training Plan for change management Manage the politicians Create internal capacity with external support if you lack internal expertise Keep it simple ! Key staff involved in design should undertake the implementation Never rollout problems whatever the pressure !

THANK YOU