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IMF POLICY PAPER
FY 2022-FY 2024 MEDIUM-TERM BUDGET
May, 2021
IMF staff regularly produces papers proposing new IMF policies, exploring options for reform, or reviewing existing IMF policies and operations. The following documents have been released and are included in this package:
A Press Release summarizing the views of the Executive Board as expressed during its April 27, 2021 consideration of the staff report.
The Staff Report on the Medium-Term Budget was prepared by the IMF staff and completed on March 26, 2021 for the Executive Board’s consideration on April 27, 2021.
The IMF’s transparency policy allows for the deletion of market-sensitive information and premature disclosure of the authorities’ policy intentions in published staff reports and other documents.
Electronic copies of IMF Policy Papers are available to the public from
http://www.imf.org/external/pp/ppindex.aspx
International Monetary Fund
Washington, D.C.
© 2021 International Monetary Fund
Press Release
PR21/145
IMF Executive Board Approves FY 2022–FY 2024 Medium-Term Budget
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, DC – May 27, 2021: On April 27, 2021, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the IMF’s administrative and capital budgets for financial year (FY) 2022, beginning May 1, 2021, and took note of indicative budgets for FY 2023–24.
The FY 2022 budget is set in the context of a global economic outlook that is marked by high uncertainty and the likelihood of uneven recovery, with many countries facing daunting crisis legacies. The budget provides for continued Fund support for its membership with the immediate crisis response and to navigate a safe exit from the crisis.
The approved net administrative budget for FY 2022, which covers all administrative expenses less receipts (primarily from external sources to help support capacity building activities and excluding lending income), has been set at US$1,214 million. The approved FY 2022 budget sustains crisis response and provides incremental resources for long-term priorities within an unchanged resource envelope in real terms for the tenth year in a row, measured relative to the IMF’s budget deflator (with the exception of a small (0.6 percent) increase in FY 2017 to meet rising information and physical security costs). The budge t is built on extensive reprioritization and savings— including from modernization. In light of immediate crisis-related needs, the Executive Board has also approved a temporary increase in the maximum amount of unused budget resources that can be carried forward from previous years from 5 to 8 percent of the underlying budget.
The FY 2022 capital budget is set at US$79 million and provides financing for building facilities and information technology capital projects. This includes projects to modernize digital platforms and tools. In response to the industry shift towards cloud-subscription based information technology solutions, the Board approved a change in the budgetary treatment of these expenses.
Additional information can be found in the staff paper.
Title Page
FY 2022–FY 2024 MEDIUM-TERM BUDGET
March 26, 2021
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Context. Amidst the unfolding COVID-19 crisis, the Fund faces twin challenges. Signs of early crisis recovery are uneven across countries, and many face daunting crisis legacies. At the same time, longer term challenges from climate change, digitalization and increasing divergence within and between countries demand stepped up effort by the Fund within its areas of expertise and in partnership with others.
FY 22–24 budget framework. Considering these challenges and following a decade of flat real budgets, staff will propose a structural augmentation for consideration by fall 2021 to be implemented over two to three years beginning in FY 23. Recognizing the importance of ongoing fiscal prudence, the budget would remain stable thereafter on a real basis at a new, higher level.
FY 22 administrative budget. The proposed FY 22 budget sustains crisis response and provides incremental resources for long-term priorities within the flat real budget envelope. The budget is built on extensive reprioritization; savings, including from modernization; and a proposed temporary increase in the carry forward ceiling to address crisis needs during the FY 22 to FY 24 period.
Capital budget. Large-scale business modernization programs continue to be rolled out, strengthening the agility and efficiency of the Fund’s operations. In response to the shift towards cloud-based IT solutions, staff propose a change in the budgetary treatment of these expenses. Investment in facilities will focus on timely updates, repairs, and modernization, preparing for the post-crisis Fund where virtual engagement and a new hybrid office environment play a larger role.
Budget sustainability. The FY 22–24 medium-term budget framework, including assumptions for a material augmentation, is consistent with a projected surplus in the Fund’s medium-term income position and with continued progress towards the precautionary balance target for coming years.
Budget risks. In the midst of a global crisis, risks to the budget remain elevated and above risk acceptance levels, including from uncertainty around the level of demand for Fund programs and ensuing staffing needs, as well as future donor funding for CD. Enterprise risk management continues to be strengthened with this budget.
Approved By
Michele Shannon
Prepared by an Office of Budget and Planning team led by Maria Albino and Andrea Salerno under the supervision of Axel Schimmelpfennig with contribution from Feras Abu Amra, Gillian Adu, Emre Alper, Leslie Alvarez, Anand Balakrishnan, Rebecca Brofft, Raquel Chuayffet, Angeliki Economopoulos, Cher Huo, Sepideh Khazai, Mathew Madsen, Mercy Pinargote, Delano Radgman, Anika Shtuni, Justin Tyson, Muriel Vimond, and Barrie Williams.
Contents
SECTION I. OVERVIEW
SECTION II. MEDIUM-TERM OUTLOOK
A. Context
B. Navigating a Safe Exit from the Crisis
C. Supporting a Transformational Recovery
D. Building the Fund of the Future
E. Fund’s Income Position and Budget
SECTION III. FY 21—A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER
SECTION IV. FY 22 ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET
A. Reprioritization and Saving Measures
B. Budget by Priority Topics
C. Budget by Output Category
D. Department Budget Allocations
SECTION V. FY 22 CAPITAL BUDGET
A. Overview
B. FY 22 Capital Budget
C. Facilities Capital
D. IT Capital
SECTION VI. RISKS TO THE BUDGET
SECTION VII. SUMMARY PROPOSAL FOR FY 22
BOXES
1. Budget Discipline Through Reprioritization and Savings
2. The IMF’s Work on Climate Change
3. Carry Forward
4. Capital Investment Framework (CIF)
FIGURES
1. Net Administrative Budget and Personnel, FY 12–21
2. Staff Overtime and Annual Leave
3. Notional Budget Path
4. Net Administrative Budget and Outturn, FY 03–21
5. Fund Financial Support (FY 02–22)
6. Fund’s Field Presence
7. CD Resources, FY 16–24
8. Actual and Projected Income and Expenses—FY 08–31
9. FY 21 Projected Fund-Financed Outturn Relative to Budget
10. FY 22 Budget Reprioritization and Savings: $103 million
11. FY 22 Spending for Selected Priorities
12. CD Spending Composition and Evolution
13. FY 22 Gross Administrative Budget by Category
14. Allocation of Net Needs to Departments
15. Capital Spending, FY 03–24
16. FY 22–24 Budget Risk Matrix
TABLES
1. FY 21–22 Budget Summary
2. Operational Income and Net Administrative Budget FY 21–24
3. Overview of FY 21 Crisis Needs
4. Administrative and Capital Budget Envelopes, FY 21–24
5. Budget Adjustments by Department, FY 21–22
6. FTE Changes by Department, FY 21–22
7. Medium-Term Capital Budget, FY 21–24
8. Estimated IT Capital Needs for Key Modernization Projects
9. Capital Expenditures, FY 20–21
10. Proposed Appropriations, FY 22
ANNEXES
I. Key Budget Concepts and Overview of the Fund’s Budget Process
11. Overview of the Fund’s Budget Process
III. Projected FY 21 Outturn
IV. Selected Policy Reviews and Evaluations in CY 20–21
V. Budget and the Cloud
VI. Long-Term Capital Plans
VII. Statistical Tables
APPENDIX
I. Draft Press Release
