Background

Data quality speaks to the adequacy or state of the data to meet its objectives. In public debt management, debt data quality is critical in ensuring credible analysis and policy formulation, facilitating accurate reporting, and it enhances stakeholder confidence in the country’s debt management operations. Quality debt data should be complete, with all debt data recorded, comprehensive and up to date. This requires strong legal and institutional capacity including adequate staff capacity to manage debt data as well as the availability of systems that provides the capacity to capture all debt types.

Cognisant of the important role of debt data quality in effective public debt management, the Commonwealth Secretariat jointly with the UNCTAD’s Debt Management and Financial Analysis System (DMFAS) Programme developed a Debt Data Quality Assessment Framework, (Debt-DQAF) Tool, which assesses the quality of debt data recorded in the debt management information systems. The main function of the tool is to assist countries validate the debt databases and assess the quality of data recorded in their respective debt management information systems.

To this end, MEFMI, jointly with COMSEC and UNCTAD, will conduct a virtual regional workshop which will focus on the fundamental aspects of debt data quality and the Debt-DQAF tool.

Objectives

• To impart knowledge and skills on the key aspects of debt data quality and transparency

• To introduce participants to the debt data quality assessment framework.

• To provide a platform to discuss challenges in debt data management and proffer solutions.

Course Content

• Debt Data Quality

• Role of debt management information systems in enhancing data quality.

• Overview of D-DQA.

• Debt data validation process.

• Debt database quality assessment process.

Target Audience

Mid-level to senior staff in debt management offices of the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning as well as Central Banks.