Accountability
The IMF, a global organization governed by and accountable to its 190 member countries, has a system of checks and balances to ensure accountability—ranging from internal and external audits to risk management and evaluation of its policies and operations. Similarly, the IMF staff is expected to observe the highest ethical and workplace standards of conduct.
Checks and balances
The IMF conducts audits of all its operations. The audit mechanisms are set up to improve governance, transparency, and accountability and include an external audit firm, an independent External Audit Committee, and the Office of Internal Audit. The External Audit Committee is independent of the IMF’s management and oversees the annual audit.
The Office of Internal Audit provides an independent assurance and advisory function designed to protect and strengthen the IMF. It has two key mandates: to assess and improve the effectiveness of the IMF’s governance, risk management processes, and internal controls and to catalyze improvement of the IMF’s business processes by advising on best practices and the development of cost-effective control solutions.
Managing enterprise risk
The IMF’s internal Office of Risk Management, established in 2014, is responsible for developing and facilitating an integrated process for managing enterprise-wide risks—including core business as well as strategic, financial, operational, and reputational risks—while enabling risk-intelligent capabilities for the IMF to fulfill its mandate.
Learning from experience
The Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) was established in 2001 to conduct independent and objective evaluations of IMF policies and activities. The IEO is fully independent of IMF management and staff and operates at arm’s length from the Executive Board. Its mission is to promote learning within the IMF, strengthen the institution’s external credibility, and support institutional governance and oversight. Recently completed IEO evaluations have focused on the IMF’s work with partners, advice on capital flows, unconventional monetary policies, and financial surveillance. More information about the IEO, including its terms of reference and evaluation reports, is available at https://ieo.imf.org.
Ethics and staff conduct
To ensure good governance within the organization, the IMF has adopted integrity measures, including a code of conduct for staff that includes financial certification and disclosure requirements and sanctions. A similar code of conduct is in place for members of the Executive Board. An integrity hotline offers protection to whistleblowers.
The IMF Ethics Office advises the institution and its staff on ethical behavior, investigates alleged violations of rules and regulations, and oversees the ethics and integrity training program for all staff members. An independent ombudsperson is also available to provide impartial and independent assistance in resolving employment-related problems.
Engagement with the public
The IMF meets regularly with political leaders and country authorities and routinely engages with a wide range of private sector representatives, the media, and nongovernment stakeholders such as the academic community, civil society organizations, parliamentarians, labor unions, and youth leaders. Opportunities for such two-way dialogue allow the IMF both to explain its approaches and to learn from others to improve its policy advice.
Safeguards Assessments
When the IMF provides financing to a member country, a Safeguards Assessment is carried out to provide reasonable assurance that the country’s central bank can manage the IMF resources and provide reliable monetary data on the IMF-supported program.
The assessments involve an evaluation of central bank operations in five areas: (1) the external audit mechanism, (2) the legal structure and autonomy, (3) the financial reporting framework, (4) the internal audit mechanism, and (5) the system of internal controls. At the end of April 2021, 346 assessments had been conducted, covering 99 central banks; 24 of these assessments were completed in FY 2021.
The assessments involve an evaluation of central bank operations in five areas:
The IMF monitors progress as central banks work to improve their safeguards frameworks and address IMF recommendations. The monitoring continues for as long as IMF credit remains outstanding. About 85 central banks are currently subject to monitoring, with an increase of 22 central banks in FY 2021 owing to the elevated activity resulting from the financing extended to member countries to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
FY2021 Assessments Completed
As of April 30, 2021
| Country | Date Completed |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | October 20 |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | March 21 |
| Costa Rica | November 20 |
| Dominican Republic | January 21 |
| Egypt | July 20 |
| El Salvador | November 20 |
| Ethiopia | July 20 |
| Gambia | July 20 |
| Guinea | April 21 |
| Jordan | July 20 |
| Kosovo | January 21 |
| Kyrgyz Republic | January 21 |
| Madagascar | April 21 |
| Moldova | September 20 |
| Montenegro | April 21 |
| Nigeria | April 21 |
| North Macedonia | September 20 |
| Panama | September 20 |
| Suriname | February 21 |
| Tajikistan | January 21 |
| Tunisia | October 20 |
| Uganda | March 21 |
The IMF also conducts fiscal safeguards reviews of state treasuries when a member requests exceptional access to IMF resources for which a substantial portion of the funds—at least 25 percent—is directed toward financing the state budget. During FY 2021, two fiscal safeguards reviews were conducted.
FY2021 Assessments Completed
As of April 30, 2021
| Country | Date Completed |
|---|---|
| Afghanistan | October 20 |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | March 21 |
| Costa Rica | November 20 |
| Dominican Republic | January 21 |
| Egypt | July 20 |
| El Salvador | November 20 |
| Ethiopia | July 20 |
| Gambia | July 20 |
| Guinea | April 21 |
| Jordan | July 20 |
| Kosovo | January 21 |
| Kyrgyz Republic | January 21 |
| Madagascar | April 21 |
| Moldova | September 20 |
| Montenegro | April 21 |
| Nigeria | April 21 |
| North Macedonia | September 20 |
| Panama | September 20 |
| Suriname | February 21 |
| Tajikistan | January 21 |
| Tunisia | October 20 |
| Uganda | March 21 |