ICMA has received funding from the World Bank to continue the successful Municipal Finance Training Certification program for professionals in Southeast Asian countries, a follow-on to a program ICMA delivered in 2011.
National and subnational governments in East Asia have been seeking to establish systems for raising private capital to meet the increasing demand for infrastructure created by continued economic growth, urbanization, and decentralization. One impediment has been local governments’ lack of knowledge about how to implement innovative infrastructure finance policies, establish a credit culture, and improve financial management so as to leverage private capital.
ICMA will deliver a five-course Municipal Finance Training Certification program on behalf of a regional Infrastructure Finance Network (IFN) established by the World Bank in partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The network serves as a platform for government and private-sector leaders to explore innovative infrastructure financing policies that will facilitate the flow of private capital into infrastructure development.
Using the Bank’s Global Development Learning Network, an interactive videoconferencing platform, ICMA will deliver the five-day program to senior municipal finance officers from ASEAN countries in June 2012.
The goals of this round of training are to
- Help participants modernize budgetary policies and implement procedures and institutional reforms
- Showcase current best practices in financial management by providing practical guidance on use of the technical tools that underlie sound financial management (e.g., budgets, accounting systems, and reporting procedures)
- Emphasize credit culture in public sector organizations.
ICMA will deliver the following courses, administer an examination, and present certificates of excellence to individuals who successfully pass the examination:
- Budgeting for improved performance
- Planning and budgeting for capital improvements
- Revenue generation: increasing collections and establishing fees for service
- Accounting and reporting: internal audit and accountability
- Creditworthiness and debt financing.
ICMA provided a first round of this training in June 2011 and conferred certificates on 105 officials who participated from sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The League of Cities of the Philippines cosponsored the training at the Filipino site.
For additional information about ICMA’s international activities, visit the ICMA International website and the International Development topic area in the Knowledge Network, or contact firstname.lastname@example.org.