Digital Budget System Expansion Targets Stronger Oversight of Public Investment

PHNOM PENH, May 22, 2026 (KPT) — Efforts to modernize public financial governance are accelerating as the Financial Management Information System (FMIS) is expanded to strengthen transparency, accountability, and efficiency in investment spending, officials said Wednesday.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) convened an awareness and training program on implementing domestically financed national investment expenditures and digitally recording foreign-funded projects through FMIS.

The initiative forms part of the Public Financial Management Reform Program, which seeks to transform budgeting and administration into a results-based, decentralized, and internationally aligned system.

Dr. Hean Sahib, Secretary of State of MEF and Chairman of the FMIS Project Management Working Group, said FMIS now covers eight ministries for domestically financed investment expenditures, including Interior, Health, Agriculture, Labor, Water Resources, and Industry.

Through the platform, ministries can process procurement requests, expenditure approvals, and payment procedures via a transparent and traceable workflow.

Expenditure recording for foreign-financed projects has also been extended to three ministries: Education, Health, and Water Resources.

The system replaces fragmented paper-based and offline recordkeeping, improving the accuracy, speed, and reliability of financial reporting and decision-making.

Sahib noted that FMIS enables real-time monitoring of expenditure flows and cash management while reducing off-system procedures and administrative delays. He described the reform as a critical step toward the long-term goal of a fully digital public budgeting system and stronger governance standards.

The MEF urged ministries to continue building technical capacity and ownership among officials to ensure successful implementation.