BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Digitalization
plays an important role in improving public finance management,
increasing transparency and accountability, and reducing corruption
risks, Ingilab Ahmadov, chairman of the Public Council under
Azerbaijan's Ministry of Finance, said, Trend's correspondent reports from the
event.
Ahmadov made the remarks on Thursday at a conference in Baku
dedicated to the digital transformation of public finance.
He said the Public Council under the Ministry of Finance was
established relatively recently and that the conference was its
first event. According to Ahmadov, choosing digitalization as the
subject of the inaugural event carries symbolic significance.
He noted that digitalization is one of the key areas of ongoing
reforms in Azerbaijan and plays a leading role in the reforms being
carried out at the Finance Ministry.
“Digitalization is a global trend and a reality of our time. In
the financial sector, particularly in public finance management,
digitalization is becoming one of the key pillars of sustainable
socio-economic development,” he said.
Ahmadov stressed that digitalizing public finance and fiscal
policy is a fundamental transformation that improves the
efficiency, transparency and responsiveness of the budget and tax
system. This approach involves building mechanisms for collecting,
allocating and managing public resources around modern
technologies.
According to him, digitalization is not merely a technological
innovation in the financial sector, but also a strategic necessity
and a source of competitive advantage. It also helps strengthen
discipline in public finance management.
“Digitalization is also a call for discipline. Discipline plays
a key role in the efficient management of financial resources,
particularly public funds,” Ahmadov noted.
He added that digitalization could also help reduce state
intervention in the economy. Excessive government regulation does
not always produce positive results, he said, while automating
financial operations reduces the need for state intervention and
helps optimize processes in the public sector.
Ahmadov also highlighted the role of digitalization in combating
corruption. The use of objective criteria, data-driven fiscal
decision-making and greater access to public procurement data can
help reduce abuses, he said.
“Undoubtedly, one of the most important issues for the public
sector is the indispensable role digitalization plays in increasing
transparency and accountability,” he stressed.
The Public Council chairman noted that digitalization begins
with data collection and the development of the necessary
infrastructure, but does not end there. Advances in artificial
intelligence (AI) enable more effective analysis of digital data,
process automation and new opportunities for decision-making.
“If digitalization provides the necessary infrastructure for
data, artificial intelligence offers the analytical power and
automated decision-making capabilities that turn digital processes
into intelligent systems,” Ahmadov said.
He added that digitalization and AI not only minimize the
influence of human factors in decision-making but also change the
requirements for human capital. In this context, financial and
technological literacy is becoming increasingly important.
