Independent fiscal institutions (IFIs) represent a major innovation in public financial management. They are an essential pillar of many countries’ fiscal setup.
The OECD has been bringing together IFIs through its Working Party of Parliamentary Budget Officials and Independent Fiscal Institutions (PBO Working Party) since 2009. The PBO Working Party seeks to identify and share good practices and to set standards for IFIs across Member countries. It developed the 2014 OECD Recommendation on Principles for IFIs, which includes a provision on the need for IFIs to undergo external evaluations. The logic behind this is simple – independence requires accountability. Just as IFIs help hold governments accountable, they have a special duty to be accountable as well. The Review presented here is part of a series of IFI external evaluations and was commissioned at the request of the Interim Parliamentary Budget Officer in September 2025. It represents the first external review of the PBO.