SAFEGUARDS ASSESSMENTS
20 INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
39. The safeguards staff complement averaged 15 FTEs since 2011.
34
The overall safeguards activity level remained broadly stable.
Safeguards work comprises primarily professional staff time on assessments
and monitoring, including overtime. Assessment activity since 2010 included
several challenging cases that placed additional demands on staff time, such
as first-time assessments in emerging new regions: four members of the
Eurosystem, and four members in the Middle East and North Africa region; and
complex update assessments for Afghanistan, BEAC, Djibouti, Pakistan,
and Ukraine. The proposed streamlining measures outlined in Section IV are expected to generate efficiency gains equivalent to two FTEs.
40. Safeguards work continues to represent a relatively modest portion of overall staff costs.
Safeguards staff represents 0.6 percent of total Fund personnel positions in recent years. In
dollar terms, the overall budget envelope for staff resources i.e., personnel expenses averaged 3.4 million per fiscal year during FY 2011–15, some 0.4 percent of the Fund-wide budget in the
personnel expenditure category for FY 2015, and a decrease from 3.8 million in FY 2010. Safeguards work continues to represent a relatively modest portion of the use of Fund resources
UFR cost with a safeguards labor cost of about four percent of the Fund-wide labor costs in the UFR category during FY 2011-14, compared to three percent over 2005-2009. As noted in Section II,
safeguards UFR-related monitoring work has a longer cycle that continues beyond the term of an arrangement. Travel costs fluctuated in line with mission and outreach activity and averaged
0.5 million per fiscal year. The average number of mission days remained stable at nine per mission.
GOING FORWARD: PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE
41. The safeguards assessment policy continues to be an important element of the Fund’s risk-management framework
. This conclusion is strongly echoed in the independent panel’s report. The panel notes that the policy has met its primary objective to mitigate potential risks of
misuse of Fund resources and misreporting of monetary program data. In addition, the panel views the notable improvements in central banks’ governance and control frameworks as substantial
“collateral benefits” that flow from the safeguards assessment process.
34
The FTEs comprised 10–11 accountants, division management Division Chief and a deputy, one research assistant, and two staff assistants. In the FY2005–2010 period, the staff complement averaged 14 FTEs.
Safeguards Activity
Source: Staff estimates based on TRS up to September 2010 and TRACES thereafter.
- 5
10 15
20 25
30 35
- 5
10 15
20 25
30 35
Q2 05
Q3 05
Q4 05
Q1 06
Q2 06
Q3 06
Q4 06
Q1 07
Q2 07
Q3 07
Q4 07
Q1 08
Q2 08
Q3 08
Q4 08
Q1 09
Q2 09
Q3 09
Q4 09
Q1 10
Q2 10
Q3 10
Q4 10
Q1 11
Q2 11
Q3 11
Q4 11
Q1 12
Q2 12
Q3 12
Q4 12
Q1 13
Q2 13
Q3 13
Q4 13
Q1 14
Q2 14
Q3 14
Q4 14
Q1 15
Q2 15
Assess ment
s St
aff ye ar
e q
u iv
a le
nt s
Total division time, including administrative, leave and training left hand scale Safeguards work left hand scale
Number of assessments in progress right hand scale
SAFEGUARDS ASSESSMENTS
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND 21
42. Staff considers that the general design of the policy continues to be appropriate, but refinements are proposed to reflect the evolving nature of safeguards risks and the panel’s
recommendations. The proposals build on the issues identified in the previous policy review, reflect
developments in central banks’ operations and institutional safeguards, and take account of the independent panel’s recommendations in the current review. Consistent with the recommendations
of the 2010 review, and the 2015 independent panel’s recommendations, governance and risk- management continue to be areas for further focus and development. Streamlining proposals to the
safeguards modalities are made on a risk-based approach as part of the Fund-wide effort to identify resource savings. The proposed changes in this section also cover the panel’s recommendations on
disclosure of safeguards information in staff reports and staff’s discussions with parties outside the central bank in cases involving recommendations to amend the central bank legislation; applicability
and modalities for fiscal safeguards reviews; and internal audit issues. Following conclusion of the current review, staff will update the Operational Guidelines on safeguards modalities.
A. Fiscal safeguards
