PAHO's financial management system (FAMIS)

executive committeeof workingparty of

the directing council the regional committee

ORGANIZATION

ORGANIZATION

116th Meeting Washington, D.C.

June 1995

Provisional Agenda Item 5.3 CEl16/20 (Eng.)

27 March 1995

ORIGINAL: ENG_LISH

PAHO_'S F_IN_ANCIA_L MA_NAGEM_{ENT SY}S_TEM ₍FAM_IS)

Resolution CSP24._R2 o_{f the XXIV Pan American} S_{anitary C}o_{nference asked the}

Secretariat to _{keep the Executive C}o_{mmittee inf}o_{rmed ab}o_{ut the difficulties that had been}

enco_{untered in the implementati}o_{n and} o_peratio_{n of the Organizati}o_{n's new financial}

management system.

The Organizatio_{n decided in 1991 t}o _{replace its} o_{ld f'mancial systems with a}

packaged financial system leased from a large accounting firm. Although this system is used widely in the United States by federal, state and local governments, a new and

substantially rewritten versio_{n was installed in PAHO's Department of Finance (AFI).}

The conversion of data from the old system and the rewritten versio_n o_{f the new financial}

system caused significant delays in the clo_{sure of the 1992-1993 acc}o_{unts. H}o_{wever, this}

process was co_{mpleted in June 1994, and the External Auditor issued an unqualified} o_{pinion with regard to the 1992-1993 acc}o_unts.

Since that time, the perfo_rmance o_{f the new financial system, called FAMIS, has}

improved substantially. A faster co_{mputer, greater familiarity of AFI staff with the}

system's operations, and impro_{vements in FAMIS s}o_{ftware have all c}o_{ntributed to better}

perfo_{rmance. End} o_{f 1994 WHO rep}o_{rts t}o _{Geneva Headquarters were made} o_{n time,}

and clo_{sure of the appr}o_{priate 1994 acc}o_{unts was acc}o_{mplished in mid-March 1995.}

There is little doubt that fro_{m an acc}o_{unting and financial point} o_{f view the} o_peratio_n o_{f FAMIS has impr}o_{ved. It is not, h}o_{wever, an especially user-friendly system}

for no_n-acco_{unting pers}o_{nnel, and eff}o_{rts are under way in 1995 t}o_{make FAMIS rep}o_rts