**Unlocking the Future: How a Revolutionary System is Transforming Budget Management!** In 2023, a groundbreaking initiative was launched to automate and enhance financial transparency ...

In January 2023, the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan launched the State Planning Information System (SPIS), aimed at enhancing the transparency of the budgeting system, automating processes, and improving financial management. We asked Deputy Minister of Finance Aset Turyssov to share insights about the operation of the system, its interim results, and future plans.

– Last year, during the National Kurultai meeting, the President of Kazakhstan stated that the republic should become a territory of universal digitalization. What has the Ministry of Finance accomplished in addressing these tasks?

– The Ministry continues its efforts to comprehensively improve processes with the goal of creating a modern and integrated ecosystem that includes budgeting and execution blocks, administration, and control. The focus is on utilizing big data, identifying and preventing violations, and optimizing and automating processes.

Specifically, the following work has been completed: tracking of expenses has been implemented in the State Planning Information System (SPIS), a module for managing state investment projects (SIP) has been introduced, and the procedure for submitting budget requests has been simplified.

Additionally, a Digital Profile of the government agency has been created, with ongoing efforts to enhance and expand it. A pilot project for a Unified "cloud" accounting system, integrated with other government agencies, has been launched. Work is underway to connect local executive bodies to this system.

In the future, there is potential for automating public sector accounting. Risk profiles have been established in the "Online Budget Monitoring" subsystem, yielding significant results in preventing and identifying violations in the use of funds.

The Ministry is also implementing a project to visualize fiscal receipts. This year, plans are in place to expand the project in terms of the data used, layers, and information analytics for conducting control activities, notifications, and regulating processes of interaction with businesses and individuals.

Furthermore, a solution has been developed to merge the Electronic Goods Catalog with the National Goods Catalog to create a unified catalog, ensuring consistency, facilitating tracking of goods, and using it in economic analytics, including pricing.

Last year, a decision was reached regarding the Marketing Analysis System. This year, pilot operation and integration of the system are planned. In terms of tax and customs administration, the entire architecture has been reviewed, with a decision made to replace systems, reducing their number, transitioning to a microservices architecture, and further automation.

The "Integrated Tax Administration System" (ITAS) has been launched and is being replicated, automating rehabilitation and bankruptcy procedures, and introducing other components (subsystems for "Administration" and "Monitoring," Automated Workplace for state revenue bodies, Integration Bus, as well as modules for "Excise" and "Collection"). A Taxpayer Dossier has been created—a system for the automated collection, processing, and storage of information from various sources to form a unified and up-to-date taxpayer profile.

– Could you elaborate on how the State Planning Information System works?

– I will start by saying that the digitalization of the budgeting system is a crucial step in the development of electronic government. To digitalize the procedures for state and budget planning, we have developed the SPIS, which has successfully passed certification for information security requirements and was put into operation in 2023. Currently, over 1,000 state institutions are connected to the system, and the number of users has reached 5,000.

The SPIS operates 16 modules, including "Forecasted Consolidated Financial Reporting" and "State Investment Project." Integration has also been achieved with 16 different government systems, including "e-Minfin," "Treasury Client," and the State Database for "Legal Entities."

Last year, the "Digital Map of the Region" module was launched, which helps analyze the socio-economic development of rural settlements and monitor their resource levels according to the Regional Standards System.

Previously, the Ministry of National Economy collected data on the provision and development of regions manually, but now all indicators for 2023 have been entered into the database, simplifying the work for economists and financiers.

– How does this system assist in budget management?

– The SPIS automates the budget formulation process. When a government institution submits a budget request, the system automatically queries the "Electronic Goods Catalog" (EGC) to select goods and their specifications. The data is then sent to the Marketing Analysis System (MAS), which determines the forecasted cost of the goods.

The Electronic Goods Catalog (EGC) has been developed to simplify and standardize the government procurement process. It eliminates the issue of multiple product codes across different systems, which previously led to corruption risks and manipulation in favor of certain suppliers. The system uses unique identification codes, making purchases transparent and more controllable.

The EGC is organized into a clear classification structure consisting of four levels. The first level categorizes items, such as "Electronic Devices" or "Food Products." The second level, "Group," is a more specific division, for example, "Audio and Video Equipment." The third level, "Class," provides further specification, such as "Televisions." Finally, the last level, "Type," describes a specific product, like "LED Televisions."

The system allows for easy product searches by code, eliminating duplication and unjustified price inflation. In the future, the catalog will be integrated with other government systems, such as the contract registry, procurement monitoring, and customs databases, ensuring complete traceability of goods—from import or production to final sale.

– How does the agency track expenditures?

– In 2024, we launched a pilot project for the end-to-end tracking of all government expenditures. Each expenditure operation is assigned a unique identifier (ID), allowing for the control of fund movement from planning to execution. The "Digital Tenge" project is managed by the National Bank of Kazakhstan. This initiative could also become an effective tool in the fight against corruption due to the transparency of operations and the ability to trace financial flows.

Currently, the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan, the National Bank, and other interested government agencies have signed joint orders to conduct pilot projects for "coloring" money. This conditional term means that each tenge allocated from the budget will receive a unique digital label, enabling tracking at all stages—from allocation to complete utilization.

This eliminates the possibility of theft and promotes the rational use of funds. The project is implemented using state funds from the social entrepreneurship corporation (SEC) for the acquisition of agricultural machinery, equipment, as well as in the construction and repair of roads.

– What other projects are planned for implementation in the near future?

– The digitalization of the budgeting system is a necessary condition for enhancing the efficiency of public finance management. Therefore, by the end of 2025, the Ministry of Finance intends to introduce new approaches and processes in budget planning.

As part of the system's improvement, a marketing analysis tool will be launched, which will consolidate data on product prices from various sources (procurement platforms, IS ESF, IS IBD, marketplaces, NPP "Atameken," and others) and allow for analysis to determine the real market value of goods. This mechanism will also be used for desk control during the acquisition of goods by government institutions, helping to avoid price inflation.

Together with document management system developers, the possibility of implementing a project is being considered that will allow tracking processes from planning to execution within a unified state planning ecosystem. To achieve this goal, integration with the "e-Zanama," "Documentology," and sectoral accounting systems of government agencies will be ensured.

Thus, the digitalization of the budgeting system will enable greater transparency, faster processes, and effective use of public resources.