Manuals & Guides

November 21, 2024

VITARA Reference Guide: Institutional Governance

Description: This guide is part of a series of Virtual Training to Advance Revenue Administration (VITARA) reference guides that has been developed based on the contents of the VITARA online modules. The VITARA Reference Guide: Institutional Governance introduces internal and external governance arrangements for tax administrations. Among other things, this guide describes how the principles of accountability and transparency can be implemented in practice, what governance safeguards exist in a tax administration, how a ministry can exercise external oversight of a tax administration, what internal controls should be introduced by executives, and what governance responsibilities exist for senior leaders in a tax administration as well as organizational considerations in the development and implementation of the governance framework. This reference guide supports executives and senior managers in a tax administration by explaining how concepts such as autonomy and legal status impact governance as well as highlighting common management committees of a tax administration and international good practices preventing corruption in a tax administration.

September 17, 2024

VITARA Reference Guide: Human Resource Management

Description: This guide is part of a series of Virtual Training to Advance Revenue Administration (VITARA) reference guides that has been developed based on the contents of the VITARA online modules. This reference guide deals with Human Resource Management (HRM) issues, HRM strategy, and, more generally, human capital in a tax administration. It introduces modern HRM practices for senior leaders of a tax administration including how HRM should be organized within a tax administration, the design of a career path, and adequate remuneration structure for tax administration officials. The guide identifies key areas of effective HRM and some of the supporting principles. It also defines what the function of learning and development is and why it is important for tax administrations. Hot topics such as workforce analysis, culture, values, ethics, HR analytics, training, and knowledge management are also covered.

August 7, 2024

VITARA Reference Guide: Organization

Description: This guide is part of a series of Virtual Training to Advance Revenue Administration (VITARA) reference guides that has been developed based on the contents of the VITARA online modules. This reference guide focuses on international good practices in organizational design. It explains how tax administrations can organize people, processes, and work effectively. It builds knowledge and understanding of critical features and dependencies in the organizational design of tax administrations, defining the concept of organizational design, and explaining why it is important. This guide also identifies the main organizational models (function-based, tax type-based, segment-based, and hybrid) used in the design of tax administrations and explains the advantages and disadvantages of the different models. It compares the roles of headquarters and field operations in a tax administration's organizational structure and also describes the importance of special units and functions within a tax administration's organizational structure. The guide helps tax administration leaders better understand how tax administration organizational models can be adapted to accommodate new responsibilities and roles.

May 13, 2024

VITARA Reference Guide: Reform Management Fundamentals: Setting up a Reform Program

Description: This guide is part of a series of Virtual Training to Advance Revenue Administration (VITARA) reference guides that has been developed based on the contents of the VITARA online modules. This reference guide focuses on tax administration reform programs. It explains why reforms are important for tax administrations, and how a tax administration can successfully plan and manage the reform process. It also details who should be involved in a reform, and what management and governance arrangements are needed to ensure reforms are delivered on time, within budget, and of acceptable quality. The guide provides practical guidance to project managers on how to prepare and execute a project plan, outlining the five key phases of a project and the planning documentation required. The guide succinctly presents proven management practices applied by tax administrations across the world in managing their reform programs.

May 13, 2024

VITARA Reference Guide: Reform Management Specific Topics: Managing a Reform Program

Description: This guide is part of a series of Virtual Training to Advance Revenue Administration (VITARA) reference guides that has been developed based on the contents of the VITARA online modules. This reference guide provides practical advice and tips to ensure tax administration reforms are delivered successfully. The guide reviews tools and methods available in the areas of planning, monitoring, and reporting reform programs and projects, risk management, change control, and resolution of issues. It also elaborates on approaches required to resource the reform program with adequate funds, skilled people, information technology, and other assets, and how to manage different tensions that may arise in the process. The guide also helps tax administrations understand what advance preparations are required for upcoming changes and the support mechanisms that need to be in place for successful change management. The guide ends with a chapter on post-implementation evaluation.

March 14, 2023

Virtual Training to Advance Revenue Administration (VITARA) Reference Guide: Strategic Management

Description: This book is the first in a series of Virtual Training to Advance Revenue Administration (VITARA) reference guides that has been developed based on the contents of the VITARA online modules. This reference guide focuses on how a tax administration can benefit from the application of strategic management: the process of setting long–term objectives, implementing initiatives to achieve them, and measuring their success. Strategic management is a critical planning, communication, and management discipline. A strategically managed tax administration is forward looking and is equipped to respond to challenges arising from a continually changing external environment. This guide is divided into five chapters highlighting key concepts, processes, and good practices relating to the strategic management of a tax administration.

April 5, 2021

A Central Bank's Guide to International Financial Reporting Standards

Description: About one-quarter of the world’s central banks apply IFRS with approximately a quarter more looking to IFRS for further guidance where their local standards do not provide enough guidance. Given the varied mandates and types of policy operations undertaken by central banks, there also exists significant variation in practice, style, and the extent of the financial disclosures in both the primary statements and in the note disclosures. By their nature, central banks are unique in their jurisdiction and so do not always have local practices and examples they can follow. Although the major accounting firms have created model disclosures intended for commercial banks, these are often not totally appropriate for a central bank. The application of IFRS across central banks differs based on the mandate of the central bank and the capacity of the accounting profession in the specific jurisdiction. An analysis of international practices, such as those undertaken in preparing these model statements, may help address questions about the structure of the statements themselves as well as the organization of the note disclosures. As a consequence, each central bank following IFRS has largely developed its own disclosures with only limited reference to others. Input from the external auditors has been significant, but some of this has been determined by the approach used by the specific auditor’s style for commercial banks rather than central banks. Auditors do not always fully appreciate the differences between a commercial bank and a central bank, which has a different role and undertakes transactions to meet its policy objectives. This has often led to an over emphasis of items not material in the context of a central bank and insufficient disclosures on operations or accountabilities specific to the functions of the central bank.

Notes: Notes

November 9, 2017

Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide

Description: This edition of Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual and Compilation Guide (Manual) updates and merges into one volume methodological and practical aspects of the compilation process of monetary statistics. The Manual is aimed at compilers and users of monetary data, offering guidance for the collection and analytical presentation of monetary statistics. The Manual includes standardized report forms, providing countries with a tool for compiling and reporting harmonized data for the central bank, other depository corporations, and other financial corporations.

October 8, 2015

The Coordinated Direct Investment Survey Guide 2015

Description: This Coordinated Direct Investment Survey Guide (Guide) has been prepared to assist economies in participating in the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS). The CDIS is being conducted under the auspices of the Statistics Department of the IMF across a wide range of economies. The survey is conducted simultaneously by all participating economies; uses consistent definitions; and encourages best practices in collecting, compiling, and disseminating data on direct investment positions. The CDIS is thus an important tool in capturing world totals and the geographic distribution of direct investment positions, thereby contributing to important new understandings of the extent of globalization, and improving the overall quality of direct investment data worldwide. As of the writing of this updated Guide, more than 100 economies participate in the CDIS.

March 11, 2015

Revised Guidelines for Public Debt Management

Description: The Revised Guidelines for Public Debt Management have been developed as part of a broader work program undertaken by the IMF and the World Bank to strengthen the international financial architecture, promote policies and practices that contribute to financial stability and transparency, and reduce countries external vulnerabilities.