The FEI team uses its expertise in public and private sector financial management to support governments to strengthen existing financial management systems and to introduce new technology to provide greater control over financial resources.
The FEI team excels at:
- Assessing the capacity of the PFM systems and identifying their strengths and weaknesses
- Designing and implementing procedures to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of PFM systems and procedures
- Supporting governments to build capacities for budget formulation, execution, accounting, and reporting
- Reforming local revenue policies and strengthening tax valuation and collection capacities
Public financial management systems, comprising budget formulation and approval, budget execution, accounting, reporting, monitoring, and audit, are generally weak in most developing countries. However, these systems are improving as governments and their development partners recognize that strong PFM systems are essential for effective and sustainable economic management and improved service delivery. Furthermore, good PFM systems are essential to ensure that public resources are used effectively and that government is accountable to its citizens.
The team from FEI has extensive experience in working with governments and assessing and supporting programs to improve their public financial management systems. Our experience supports the use of country systems and the importance of country ownership of the need for reforms and changes. We also recognize the importance of introducing appropriate levels of technology to improve the capacity of the staff by standardizing procedures and increasing the level of transparency and effectiveness.
FEI supports governments by assessing existing PFM systems and procedures and the capacity of the respective staff as a critical first step in strengthening the effectiveness of these systems. We have a long track record of building capacities for budget formulation and execution, accounting and reporting, and developing procedures to monitor the execution of their plans and budgets. FEI also assists governments to strengthen processes and systems for the management of public finances, and the introduction of automated systems at the central and local government levels. We appreciate that strong policy and planning frameworks are vital to strengthening good governance. We also recognize the centrality of public expenditure management to support policy and planning frameworks and sustainable public sector service delivery.
Public resources are limited and the citizens in all countries are demanding and, in most cases, deserve improved services. Strong PFM systems will not solve all of the problems facing governments, but weak and ineffective PFM systems negatively impact a government’s ability to raise the needed financial resources, to properly account for and control the resources under its control and to deliver sustainable services.
FEI Financial Management Experts:
Lance Morrell is a public finance specialist with more than 35 years of professional experience. Mr. Morrell has extensive public financial management experience at both the central and local government levels as well as experience involving institutional reform, organizational capacity building, and project management. Mr. Morrell was a staff member of the World Bank for over 22 years with more than 10 years of project experience in East Asia and an additional 12 years of project experience in Eastern and Southern Africa where he was a Lead Operations Officer responsible for leading teams in the design, implementation and evaluation projects primarily in the areas of local government and infrastructure development and institutional reform. Prior to joining the World Bank, Mr. Morrell served as the Treasurer of a corporation and later as the Controller of a division of a major corporation and consulted with a major accounting firm. Since retiring from the World Bank, Mr. Morrell founded FEI Consulting LLC and has participated in a number of public financial management and institutional strengthening projects throughout the world for a wide range of clients. Mr. Morrell is a Certified Public Accountant, a Chartered Global Management Accountant and he earned an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.
Mihaly Kopanyi is a municipal finance specialist with over 20 years of experience in the World Bank where worked in about 30 countries in Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Asia. Prior to his retirement from the World Bank he was a Municipal Finance Adviser in South Asia and the co-chair of the Municipal Finance Thematic Group. He was a professor and chairman of Department of Microeconomics, Budapest University. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics and a Doctor of Univ. on Logistics, Budapest University. He did post-graduate studies at the Wharton School, Penn State University and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Mr. Kopanyi’s core competencies include intergovernmental and municipal finance, financial intermediaries for local governments (municipal funds), revenue enhancement, financial restructuring, property taxation, capital improvement planning, infrastructure finance and financial structuring, and public private partnerships.
