PULSAR - Public Sector Accounting and Reporting Program

What is the objective of PULSAR?

The objective of the program is to support the enhancement of participating countries’ Public Sector Accounting (PSA) and financial reporting frameworks in line with international standards and in accordance with good practices, in order to improve government accountability, transparency, and performance.

What is the scope of PULSAR?

PULSAR is a regional and country level program to support the development of public sector accounting and financial reporting frameworks in beneficiary countries. At a regional level, PULSAR works in three broad mutually reinforcing areas, providing a platform for knowledge sharing and contributing to improvements in government accountability, transparency and performance.

Why is Public Sector Accounting and Financial Reporting Important?

Governments are entrusted to manage public resources and deliver a wide range of public services in a sound, cost-effective and sustainable manner. Countries face significant deficiencies in financial reporting which affect fiscal sustainability, including opaque reporting of fiscal deficits and sovereign debt.

High-quality financial information produced per a robust set of international standards results in better decision making to support the generation and allocation of resources. It builds accountability increases fiscal transparency, promotes consistency and enables comparability with peers both in the region and globally.

Current PULSAR country beneficiaries are: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, and Ukraine.

PULSAR aims to have the following impact:

• Increased awareness and knowledge sharing, through peer exchange, knowledge transfer and regional cooperation.
• Improved national laws/regulations through technical assistance and implementation support.
• Enhanced relevant public sector financial reporting institutional arrangements and capacity developed in standard setting, quality control and implementation arrangements.
• Better national processes to design, adopt, translate and disseminate standards and tools, as well as related educational materials.
• Established training, education, certification and continuing professional development programs, in line with emerging best practices.

The PULSAR Partners - Austria, Switzerland, and the World Bank - jointly established the objectives and scope of the PULSAR Program. They provide institutional support for its implementation and mobilize the resources needed for its activities. Beneficiary countries also have an opportunity to shape the Program through regional cooperation platforms and input to Communities of Practice.