Delegates from other countries attended the "Government technology and public financial management" conference. Photo: TL.

The conference welcomed the attendance of seven countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Philippines, Nepal and Cambodia.

Speaking at the workshop, Mr Nguyen Manh Cuong, Deputy Director General of the State Treasury of Vietnam, said that the conference "Government technology and public financial management" showed the attention of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to efforts to reform manage policies and build public financial management information systems of Southeast Asia countries, including Vietnam.

According to the State Treasury's leader, the Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) play an important role as a tool to help governments manage public finances transparently, quickly and effectively. According to many countries, the FMIS supports budget formulation, execution, accounting, public debt management, public asset management and Government financial reporting.

In Vietnam, the FMIS has the core of the Treasury and Budget Management Information System (TABMIS) and the extended modules, including the online public service system that provides online transactions for budget users; the Tax Collection System (TCS); the Treasury Single Account - TSA connected to the banking system; State treasury management system; the State Accounting System and other systems.

Mr Nguyen Manh Cuong said that in 2022, the Prime Minister signed the Decisions promulgating the 2030 Financial Strategy and the State Treasury Development Strategy to 2030. Accordingly, Vietnam will continue to implement orientations for administrative reform on public financial management; reform processes, especially upgrading the TABMIS and related application systems towards the formation of the Vietnam Digital State Budget and Accounting Information System (VDBAS), which has a more comprehensive and complete scope and uses a more modern digital technology platform

The regional conference on the topic of "Government Technology and Public Financial Management" organized by the IMF is a very meaningful opportunity, helping not only Vietnam but all participating countries learn and exchange experiences from each other as well as from IMF experts to give recommendations to the reform of public financial management policy and the upgrading or building of the FMIS shortly," said Mr Nguyen Manh Cuong

Also, at the conference, Mr Werner Gruber – Head of Cooperation Office, Embassy of Switzerland in Viet Nam said digital solutions had been used to enhance access to information and use of public services. Furthermore, Digitization plays a vital

"Digitalization has been introduced in all sectors of the economy, helping the Government manage public finance more effectively. However, digitalizing public financial management has always been challenging for many countries. This is why Digitization has been implemented, but it is still not systematic. Specifically, all areas, such as tax, customs, bidding, etc. have been digitized but lack the link from the integrated information system. Therefore, the IMF will help implement digital solutions in this area. We will provide strategic guidance, solutions, structure and key functions on digital solutions for public financial management", said Mr. Werner Gruber.

It is known that from March 6, 2023, to March 10, 2023, the delegates will conduct exchanges and discussions in pairs and in groups with international experts on the content. "Guidelines for Government technology solutions in public financial management" in both the function of public financial management and the transformation of information technology; and discuss topics in groups to consolidate practical knowledge.