PARIS, March 4, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Delegation of the European Union to Georgia has awarded Louis Berger a 1.5 million euro ($1.68 million USD) contract to implement the third phase of a large scale public finance management assistance program.
Between 2012 and 2013, Louis Berger worked on the program's second phase, providing technical assistance to expand reforms in budgeting, internal and external audit, public procurement and tax services, as well as to establish more advanced policy coordination and monitoring mechanisms. This new contract is Louis Berger's second public finance management initiative in Georgia and the third in the Newly Independent States (NIS) region in the last three years, following the January 2015 kickoff of another public finance management initiative in Tajikistan.
Under this new technical assistance contract, Louis Berger will continue to contribute to the European Union's ongoing efforts to bolster transparency, accountability and the effectiveness of public finance policy and management in Georgia.
"This initiative will require us to partner closely with an array of Georgian public sector organizations, including the Ministry of Finance, the State Audit Office as well as the Parliament of Georgia represented by the Budget and Finance Committee and the Budget Office," said Daphnée Benayoun, director of institutional development at Louis Berger. "They are all strongly motivated to continue implementing public finance management reforms that will help Georgia and its people prosper, and we are honored to have the opportunity to accompany them in this process."
The current phase of the public finance management initiative aims to support ongoing reforms through policy advice and institutional and human resource capacity building. Louis Berger is providing "on demand," tailored solutions to respond to the emerging needs and priorities of Georgia's government. Louis Berger also will continue to promote and raise awareness around the European Union's contributions to public finance reforms among civil society organizations and international partners.
The European Union first started large scale assistance to Georgia's public finance management sector in 2007 through a 16 million euro ($18 million USD) policy support program. The program sought to enhance government accountability by establishing a modern public finance management system that enables medium term expenditure planning, internal and external auditing and better public procurement.
About Louis Berger
Louis Berger is a $1 billion global professional services corporation that helps infrastructure and development clients solve their most complex challenges. We are a trusted partner to national, state and local government agencies; multilateral institutions; and commercial industry clients worldwide. By focusing on client needs to deliver quality, safe, financially-successful projects with integrity, we are committed to deliver on our promise to provide Solutions for a better world.
Louis Berger operates on every habitable continent. We have a long-standing presence in more than 50 nations, represented by the multidisciplinary expertise of 6,000 engineers, economists, scientists, managers and planners. For more information, visit louisberger.com.
Photo caption: Louis Berger kicked off the third major public finance management initiative in the NIS region.
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