Within the framework of the Third Project on "Public Sector Modernization" implemented with the support of the World Bank and the grant programme signed as a result of the agreement between the Finance Ministries of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation, it is envisaged to carry out activities on the development and introduction of the Public Finance Management Information System (PFMIS) in the Republic of Armenia.
The PFMIS assumes automation of all public finance management processes in one unified information platform.
On May 7, a discussion headed by Vardan Aramyan on the introduction of the expenditure planning automated system was held at the RA Ministry of Finance, during which the works of the provider organizations carried out within the framework of the contract signed in 2017 for the purpose of system acquisition were presented.
Accordingly, the process of budgetary expenditure planning has been evaluated by the provider; the logical structure and architecture of the automated system have been clarified, and as a result, a WEB-based universal computer program has been developed which enables each spending unit (from the primary circle to the Ministry of Finance) without attracting programmers or making changes in the program;
- to form a template and enter into the system the data necessary to calculate the amount of each state budget expenditure,
- to form a template and enter into the system the rules (deriving from the law) through which the required amounts should be calculated,
- to define "global variables" that can be used jointly for all programs (e.g. minimum wage, electricity tariff, etc.);
- to organize the registration of the users, with the clear definition of each jurisdiction (entering data, confirming, etc.),
- to ensure the accounting of the actions performed in the system by the users,
- as a result, to establish the need for the state budget expenditure calculation within the framework of the existing regulations and the policy pursued.
The development and introduction of the PFMIS is a long-term issue the implementation of which may take 3-7 years according to various estimates.
The process of state budget expenditure planning is one of the key components of the public finance management system. In order to optimize the latter, in 2017 the Ministry of Finance has initiated the process of formulating public expenditures, developing an automated system of budgeting process, integrating it with other automated systems in the public administration system and creating opportunities of information exchange.