Before embarking on reforms of public expenditure management, it is essential to know the strengths and weaknesses of the existing institutions, practices and capacity. Various tools have been developed to standardise the approach, which are then used by donors, technical assistance providers and governments to determine the most appropriate form of support and target assistance. These include:
- The public expenditure and financial accountability (PEFA) assessment - a joint initiative of the World Bank, EC, DFID and others to benchmark public financial management systems
- The debt management performance assessment (DeMPA) developed by the World Bank as an extension of PEFA which assesses public debt management operations exclusively
- Fiduciary risk assessments (FRA) used by DFID to determine the most appropriate aid modality for each country it supports
Crown Agents regularly assesses the various aspects of public financial management using these tools and works with countries to understand the methodology, interpret the results and implement successful reform plans.