ABSTRACT
I. Introduction............................................................................................................ 490 II. Terms ...................................................................................................................... 490 III. MIS applied in PFM................................................................................................ 491 IV. A conceptual model for more fully integrating PFMIS ......................................... 494 V. Private-sector adoption of MIS in financial management..................................... 494
A. Why the public sector has not followed the private-sector pattern of adoption......................................................................................... 495
B. Integrating PFMIS ........................................................................................... 498 C. The integration of PFM and MIS: a brief assessment .................................... 501
VI. Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 503 References........................................................................................................................ 503
Public finance management (PFM) and management information systems (MIS) represent the convergence of old and new public-sector concerns, i.e., using of information to maximize the utility of resources. MIS promises to make PFM better, primarily through integrating the use of information. This chapter defines key terms, describes the application of MIS to accounting in the public sector, and explains the barriers to the fulfillment of MIS promises. Because of fragmentation of PFM, the best choice for integrating PFM and MIS is a conceptual model that represents the logic of application of MIS to financial management in the private sector. The PFM and MIS integration model starts with operational applications as a precursor to tactical applications and then to applications oriented to strategic decision-making.
