Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability framework is a tool to assess the status of a country’s public financial management system. This brief describes its evolution, the upgraded 2016 framework, and key lessons learned.
Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) framework is a tool for assessing the status of a country’s public financial management (PFM) system. The PEFA framework provides the foundation for evidence-based measurement of PFM performance at a specific point in time. A 3-day forum was organized in February 2017 to explore and discuss experiences and achievements of the PEFA program and its influence on PFM reform in Asia and the Pacific. The forum highlighted the rich experience of countries in Asia and the Pacific in managing PEFA assessments and in using the results of PEFA assessment reports as an input to governments’ PFM reforms plans and to monitor its implementation.
This brief will describe what PEFA is, give a background on why the PEFA program was established, the evolution of the PEFA framework, and the key characteristics of the upgraded PEFA 2016 framework, as well as an overview of key lessons learned in using PEFA in Asia and the Pacific.