The OECD will release Restoring Public Finances: Enabling Effective Government on Wednesday 27 May, starting at 09:30 CEST (07:30 GMT).
OECD Director for Public Governance Elsa Pilichowski will present the report, including an overview of reforms and savings measures currently being undertaken in OECD countries to address fiscal sustainability.
The report will be launched during the Forum on Restoring Public Finances, which will bring together representatives of ministries of finance, parliaments, independent fiscal institutions and supreme audit institutions for discussion on challenges facing policymakers as they seek to put public finances on a more sustainable footing and build public support for necessary reforms. On the latter, a second report The People and the Budget - Empowering Public Understanding of Public Finances, also being launched at the Forum, outlines a strategy for improving public understanding of public finances, including demystifying the budget for key decision makers, communicating public finances clearly, fostering citizen engagement to build legitimacy and transforming independent fiscal institutions into proactive fiscal advocates.
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann will open the Forum at 9:30 CEST (07:30 GMT), alongside Kelly Kinneen, Assistant Director for Budget, Office of Management and Budget in the United States, and Chair of the OECD Committee of Senior Budget Officials.
A Ministerial Roundtable starting at 10:00 CEST (08:00 GMT) will see senior government officials from countries worldwide share views on restoring public finances, including strategies for achieving reforms and savings, communicating fiscal pressures to citizens, and building public understanding of the need for long-term fiscal sustainability.
An additional OECD report will also be presented during the Forum. Strengthening the Independence of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) looks at how SAIs – the public bodies responsible for overseeing governments’ performance and use of public funds – can effectively operate independently from undue influence. While SAIs’ independence is usually established in law, in practice it is shaped by ‘informal’ factors that often arise from their interactions with other branches of government. The report offers recommendations to navigate these factors and improve SAI independence in practice.
Journalists can register to participate in the Forum on Restoring Public Finances here. To register for on-site media participation, click here.
Media requests to receive the reports under embargo prior to release should be sent by email to embargo@oecd.org. Journalists requesting an electronic version in advance of the release time agree to respect OECD embargo conditions.
Additional information on the OECD’s work on public finances is available here.
For media queries or to arrange interviews, journalists should contact Lawrence Speer in the OECD Media Office (+33 1 45 24 97 00).
Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to preserve individual liberty and improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.