MoF showcases latest Government Finance Statistics developments at AMF training programme

The Ministry of Finance (MoF), represented by the Financial Policy Coordination Department, concluded its participation at a Government Finance Statistics (GFS) training programme, last Thursday. The training sessions, which took place over two-weeks, were organised by the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and hosted at the AMF’s Economic Policy Institute in Abu Dhabi.

MoF, along with a number of UAE finance departments, hosted a range of workshops and introductory training courses which were attended by 37 GFS system specialists from 13 Arab countries. Participants were given the opportunity to gain insight into the Ministry’s experience of implementing the Emirates Gate of GFS Reports system, which has been developed based on the IMF’s GFS Manual.

HE Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, Assistant Undersecretary of Resources and Budget Sector at MoF, stressed the Ministry’s commitment to implement the latest international practices in government financial work. HE highlighted the GFS system in particular, which supports decision makers with accurate financial data, helping them to develop plans and financial policies. The system also enhances the Ministry’s ability to publish the government’s financial statements, raising the UAE’s level of transparency globally.

HE Al Yateem added: “The Ministry’s participation in this regional training session reflects its strong partnership with both the IMF and AMF, and its dedication to coordinating with Arab and international level simultaneously, in order to modernise, develop and standardise financial policies. This contributes to enhancing the efficiency of specialists in government financial affairs, as well as developing their capabilities through the exchange of experiences.”

The training session addressed the GFS’s scope of coverage and accounting rules, including accrual basis of accounting, evaluation basis, classification, lendingand balance sheets, as well as initial data and processes used when preparing statistics.

The Ministry delivered a presentation on the IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014; highlighting the most prominent achievements since the launch of the Emirates Gate of GFS Reports.

Participants also reviewed the sectorial division for local private sectors, the collection and preparation of financial data, automatic processes for extracting reports, the publishing of financial statements, whether through the Ministry’s website or via quarterly and annual publications issued by the IMF, as well as the various steps involved in the process to adopt the procedures given in the of the GFS Manual 2014, which was issued by the IMF.

The Ministry of Finance launched the GFS system in 2009 to support the preparation of the UAE’s financial reports. The Ministry is responsible for issuing these reports in coordination with all finance departments within the UAE, and 32 federal independent bodies.