Rapid Evidence Review No. 3: The extent to which programmes aimed at strengthening PFM (focus on accounting standards and statistics) have a positive influence on the ability to prevent acts of corruption by public officials

• Research unit: SECO
• Project number: 2026-WEQA-RER3

Short description (English)

Public Finance Management (PFM) reforms are widely used in development cooperation to improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability in public finances, with the additional goal of reducing corruption. Based on a review of 24 studies, the evidence suggests a positive but generally weak-to-moderate relationship between PFM reforms - particularly accounting and reporting reforms such as IPSAS and IFMIS adoption - and improved control of corruption. While these reforms can contribute to greater transparency, their effectiveness depends heavily on enabling conditions such as political commitment, institutional capacity, and enforcement mechanisms. The review concludes that accounting-focused PFM reforms alone are unlikely to be a strong deterrent to corruption and should be implemented as part of broader public administration reform efforts. Further research is needed to understand the long-term and combined effects of different PFM reforms on corruption reduction.

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• Rapid Evidence Review No. 3: The extent to which programmes aimed at strengthening PFM have a positive influence on the ability to prevent acts of corruption by public officials [PDF] 1'182 kB