ACTIVITIES & EVENTS INITIATED

(Extract from ICGFM's 20TH Anniversary Publication, October, 1968))

Foreword:
This special publication marks the 20th anniversary of the International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management (ICGFM) and highlights its past achievements,
current initiatives, and the challenges ahead.

Remarkable results have been realized from the financial management conferences in which ICGFM has played a key role, whether they were held in Brisbane, Australia; Budapest, Hungary; London, England; Lahore, Pakistan; Miami, Florida; New Delhi, India or Washington, D.C. Many ideas for the Public Fund Digest, Government Financial Management World, and the Washington Forums have emanated from the international and regional
conferences.

Introduction:
...A group of visionary officials in key nations of the world agreed that there was a need for such an organization to promote the improvement of public sector financial management and the training available for the professionals performing that task; government accountants, auditors, budget officers and other officials entrusted with the responsibility of keeping records of how public funds are handled. Two decades later, the fledgling initiative that started with few resources has grown to represent 92 organizations from 39 countries, reflecting the trend towards globalization that has become the hallmark of our time. Through our membership, our programs reach hundreds of thousands of government financial managers around the globe...
However, besides promise, the future also holds uncertainty. The 20th anniversary of the Consortium has coincided with a spell of turmoil in global markets that has been characterized as the first financial crisis of the 21st century...

This article borrows heavily from the remarks made by Jim Wesberry, former ICGFM President and XX Anniversary Chairman, in the March 1998 newsletter under the title "Why the Consortium was Started", and by the ICGFM's current leader, Jim Durnil, in the September 1998 issue of the newsletter, in the message The International Consortium on Governmental Financial Management: "Who are We."

Origins:
There were at least two convergent views that pointed to the need to create the Consortium. One was fed by a sense of frustration on the part of the large national professional membership organizations, such as the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) in the United States, the United Kingdom's Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), the Australian Society of CPAs, and the Municipal Finance Officers Association (MFOA-USA and Canada). These groups felt not enough was being done to assist the growth of professional practice among government accountants, auditors, budget officers and other financial managers working in the public sector throughout the world, particularly in the developing countries where the profession often went unrecognized. The concerned organizations had attempted to establish chapters in other nations, but often ran into roadblocks in the form of perceived "neo-colonialism". Whenever chapters were established, their membership usually consisted of expatriates or local professionals who had received their education and certification in the "mother" country.
The second view represented the consensus of key auditors general who also saw the need for improving the status and education of government financial managers and other professionals in developing countries. Among them were the Auditor General of Canada, James J. Macdonnell, and the Comptroller General of the United States, Elmer B. Staats, who served as the first Honorary Co-Chairmen of the ICGFM. Others who held similar opinions were
Dr. Mortimer A. Dittenhofer, Executive Director of AGA and one of the early authors of the General Accounting Office (GAO) "Yellow Book" on government auditing standards; James P. Wesberry, Jr., who was an adviser to the Comptroller General of the U.S. and Auditors General of Peru and Ecuador as well as an adviser to ILACIF, the Latin American Association of Supreme Audit Institutions (now known as OLACEFs); and Noel Hepworth, Executive Director of CIPFA. All three would eventually serve as presidents of the Consortium.
These leaders perceived that the international professional bodies that existed at the time were either "private clubs,narrowly focused groups which shunned colleagues in both the government and educational communities,or were exclusively oriented towards the private sector.
The international debt crisis of the early 1980s, which shook the world in the aftermath of the 1970s oil crisis precipitated by the OPEC oil producers cartel, brought home the revelation that government financial managers in many countries had not been providing timely or accurate figures on the status of sovereign loans, a regretful state of affairs that haunts some countries these days. In recent years, however, in dialog with the Consortium and other groups, IFAC, through its Public Sector Committee, has become active in standard setting in the public sector. Likewise, INTOSAI partnered with the ICGFM in a regional conference held in Hungary in 1997 to which other groups were invited to discuss the improvement of government internal controls and internal audits.

Raising an organization:
Special thanks should be given to the leaders who protected and nourished the ICGFM in its younger and most vulnerable days. It had been founded with virtually no financial resources of its own other than the dues paid by its membership, which was meager, especially because it was established as an umbrella group of organizations. Those contributions were kept modest
to encourage small and developing countries’ organizations to join.

The first is Dr. Mortimer A. Dittenhofer, who persuaded AGA to take on duties as the secretariat of this new organization, of which it was a founding member.

The second is Arthur L. Litke, who as Assistant Director of GAO and chairman of the International Affairs Committee of AGA, used that body to organize the ICGFM, expand its membership, and promote its first publications and conferences.

The third is Audrey Dysland, who as Director of Finance of AGA took on the tasks of looking after its membership rolls and finances. Several years later, when interest in international aspects of government financial management waned temporarily at AGA, Audrey took the records to her home where she managed the ICGFM Secretariat at little or no cost (and with no compensation to her).

Fourth, was James P. Wesberry, Jr., who from wherever he has worked, be it Latin America, Days Inns, the Organization of American States, the GAO, USAID, Price Waterhouse, the Institute of Public Administration, the World Bank or Casals and Associates; has always used his position and influence to promote the growth and fulfillment of the professional objectives of the ICGFM around the world.

The fifth is Noel Hepworth, who created a viable link to those working in public finance throughout the British Commonwealth. He also helped forge stronger working links with one of our founding members, the Australian Society of CPAs.

The sixth is Raymond Einhorn, who developed and nurtured the Washington International Governmental Financial Management Forum, a monthly luncheon presentation and discussion group of the ICGFM.

The seventh is Donald Beatty, Executive Director of the Municipal Finance Officers Association, which became one of the founding members of the ICGFM. He directed our attention to the importance of strengthening municipal financial management around the world.

The eighth is Dr. Adolf J.H. Enthoven, Director of the Center for International Accounting Development at the University of Texas at Dallas. A noted author of a number of studies on accounting trends in developing countries and in countries in transition such as Russia, Dr. Enthoven has led the ICGFM research efforts through our first 20 years.

The ninth is Arigpudi Premchand, Assistant Director of the International Monetary Fund's Fiscal Affairs Department, who served as ICGFM Director and Vice President. Mr. Premchand is a notable expert and author of studies on the development and evolution of government budget policy and administration. He frequently served as a speaker at our conferences and forums and acted as a link and interpreter between the views of the economists, budget experts and financial managers. Of course there have been many others who also helped strengthen the ICGFM in its early years, among them many of its present officers and directors.