Efficient and transparent fiscal management is perhaps the most vital element of improved economic governance. Governments throughout the developing world are modernizing to tax more fairly, educate citizens on the importance of compliance, budget and spend wisely on shared priorities, and account publicly for their decisions and practices. IBI works with countries coming out of civil conflict and those transforming from state-directed to market-oriented economies to manage change and build government and civil society relationships. IBI specializes in restarting computerization projects stalled by overambitious or needlessly complicated technology design.

Tax reform can succeed when people agree on the principles:

• Fairness
  
• Economic efficiency
  
• Stimulating economic growth
  
• Increasing compliance
  
• Reducing administrative costs
  
• Simplicity and stability

In Tanzania we trained both tax and mining officials on these principles, helped simplify the tax structure, increased gem and gold trade through legal channels, and trained tax auditors to look for major loopholes such as transfer pricing.

In 2006 as the newly elected Liberian leadership tried to rebuild after 14 years of civil conflict, it found budgeting, government procurement, and mining in disarray. Within a year, with IBI's help, there was a results-oriented budget process in place for all ministries. Budget allocations that used to take two weeks or more are now processed in one day. The General Services Administration (GSA) and mining, both of which were abused during the conflicts, are undergoing rapid change management. GSA has a new business plan, diamond mining has resumed under Kimberley Process oversight, multibillion dollar mining investments have been negotiated to the great advantage of both government and communities, and a computerized mining cadastre is underway to ensure secure, transparent mining rights registration.

Tariff levels are also a critical component of fiscal management. In the past they were complex and open to manipulation. IBI assisted ECOWAS member countries to apply a four-level common external tariff, 0 percent on medicines, books and social needs, 5 percent on raw materials, 10 percent on inputs for agriculture and industry, 20 percent on consumer goods, It is simple and transparent, reducing opportunities for corruption and helping trade grow.

In The Gambia and Benin, IBI analyzed and streamlined customs procedures. Through careful process mapping, efficiency is up and corruption is down.