Department of Finance, Government of Ajman, UAE: Ajman Finances in Good Hands

08 Jan, 2020

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The Department of Finance of the government of Ajman plays a key role in providing financial services for the sustainable development of the emirate.

It was established by Amiri Decree No. (8) 2002 and restructured in 2010 to form the Department of Financial and Administrative Affairs under the Emiri Decree No. (4). It was further modified under the order of Amiri Decree No. (15) of 2012 to form the Department of Finance (DOF).

The DOF supervises all the financial affairs of the emirate’s government and establishes and implements the emirate’s general annual budget. It works in co-operation with local government Departments, issuing final accounts and verifying the collection of public revenue as well as transferring funds to the relevant agencies.

Preparation, adoption and development of government resources with agencies is also part of the DOF remit, preparing bills of laws and local decrees related to financial affairs, consulting and providing technical support in the Unified Financial System of Ajman.

The Government Budgets Division has various tasks and responsibilities. It prepares, reviews and updates the current budget and financial planning methodologies in accordance with best practice. It also studies and analyses each draft annual budget and liaises with other departments and authorities.

The DOF also prepares the draft general annual budget of the Government of Ajman and monitors its execution, in addition to monitoring and controlling withdrawals, transfers and additions. Trends and performance are analysed against financial revenue.

The DOF prepares periodic financial performance reports, studies the potential financial impact of amendments and additional credits received, and drafts decrees and legal resolutions.

Cashflow projections are created for the Ajman Government, with comprehensive performance reports, management systems development and government performance indicators.

The budgets division excels in preparing medium-term financial plans, and integrating financial and strategic planning.

The Smart Financial Planning and Analysis system is a strategic initiative launched by the DOF to improve the Public Financial Management system by transforming the government’s budgeting system into a performance-based budgeting system.

The system enhances the planning, analysis and preparation of the Ajman Financial Plan and budget by partnering with the Department of Finance and local government departments. It represents a qualitative shift in the management of resources, from spending to planning. A medium-term plan is being created to integrate strategic and financial planning to rationalise spending, financial discipline, financial sustainability and more diversified and sustainable economic growth.

In line with the digital revolution with artificial intelligence, the system is based on the principles of AI with reports and dashboards displaying information and data to create a more informed decision-making process.

Features of the Smart financial planning and analysis system:

Recognition and analysis of inputs to deliver quality outputs
Continuous development and improvement, backed by an automated analysis process, which is self-monitored
Processes vast amount of data in real time
Detects and analyses data trends
Uses inbuilt solution generation capabilities

The user-friendly screens follow-up the business process “tree” and the credits passed by the data before submission. Risks are analysed and financial impacts on future projects are studied.

PEFA is a methodology for assessing public financial management performance. It identifies 94 characteristics (dimensions) across 31 key components of public financial management (indicators) in seven broad areas of activity (pillars).

The adoption of these indicators is a strategic initiative to strengthen DOF capacities to assess the status of country public financial management (PFM) systems and develop a practical sequence of reform and capacity development actions.

The PEFA programme provides a framework for assessing and reporting on PFM, using quantitative indicators. It is designed to provide a snapshot of performance at specific points in time using a methodology that can be replicated in successive assessments, giving a summary of changes over time.