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Public Finance

Helping ministries of finance and government agencies transform their economies and create opportunities and growth
Governments worldwide face profound fiscal imbalances and systemic financial failures. Public finance institutions—including finance ministries, tax and customs agencies, central banks, government lenders, and public pension funds—are under intense pressure to modernize, increase transparency, and improve their performance, providing better outcomes for citizens.
Our work in public finance covers a wide range of topics, from examining macroeconomic trends and performing revenue and expenditure analysis, to assessing and quantifying risk, redesigning IT infrastructure, scaling innovative reforms, and exploring new methods of revenue generation.

What we do

Ministry of finance effectiveness

Helping ministries define their strategic plans and internal organization, become “active owners,” and optimize the state shareholding portfolio.

Tax agency transformation

Identifying performance levers and supporting reform for “good-to-great” tax administration, using data and technology—including big data and complex modelling—to minimize tax fraud, reduce underpayment, and improve the taxpayer experience.

Treasury department management

Helping governments address short- and long-term fiscal vulnerabilities, instill a “do more with less” approach, and set performance-based budgeting.

Digitizing customs and borders agencies

Partnering with customs agencies to drive digital transformations

Welfare agency improvement

Accelerating and implementing strategies to modernize administration processes across social benefits, spanning unemployment, pensions, and welfare.

Transformation for government lenders

Helping agencies redesign their approach and improve their operational capabilities

Examples of our work

Transforming the tax and customs systems of an African country

Supported an end-to-end reform with a two-year design phase and three-year implementation that focused on restructuring into a single entity, developing capabilities, and implementing the regional best practice IT, resulting in a $4.8 billion increase in non-oil tax revenue within four years.

Transitioning to a proactive policy-setting approach

Helped the ministry of finance of a G20 country develop a strategy to transition from a transaction-based, reactive ministry to a policy-setting strategic shaper that acts as a guardian of effective government spending. The 70 initiatives we helped implement ultimately led to an increase of between 30 and 50 points on open budget index.

Building HR capabilities

Helped an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development tax administration by establishing a multiyear planning process, helping them build the capabilities required for workforce planning, developing an HR planning tool, and creating a comprehensive career path guide, all part of a program that covered 70 percent of the workforce.

Digitizing operations for a call center

Supported a taxpayer-service organization in its efforts to improve online functionality and call center operations, yielding a ten percent boost in productivity and greater taxpayer satisfaction.

Transforming a customs agency

Worked with a customs agency to embrace automation, utilize data analytics, and focus on process efficiencies. The effort generated between $80 million and $100 million in savings by increasing “hit rates” on high-risk travelers and shipments, and reducing delays for low-risk travelers.

Streamlining loan approval

Helped a government lender increase the efficiency of their loan approval process, yielding a 70 percent decrease in backlogs as well as an increase in employee morale and customer satisfaction.

Featured experts

Rima Assi
Senior Partner and Managing Partner, Abu Dhabi
Leads the Abu Dhabi office and advises leaders, policy makers, and governments on the transformation of fiscal-management and...
Jonathan Dimson
Senior Partner, London
Leads McKinsey's Public Sector Practice in Europe and works with public organizations to restructure, improve performance, and...
Damien Bruce
Senior Partner, Melbourne
Leads McKinsey’s Health & Public Sector work in Australia, with a focus on health, aged care, social services, infrastructure...

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