The World Bank, with funding fromAustralian Agency for International Development (AusAID) andin partnership with the Department of Budget and Management(DBM) as its primary counterpart, has conducted anindependent assessment of the Philippines' publicfinancial management (PFM) system. The assessment was basedon the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability(PEFA) methodology. The overall objective of the exercise isto provide all stakeholders with an evidence-basedassessment of the PFM system and a common basis foridentifying priority areas for improvements. The assessmentcovers primarily the period 2004-06, although for someindicators more recent information is incorporated in theanalysis. Some of these areas are already covered by ongoingreforms, while others may not be. The assessment is intendedto serve as a baseline for reform monitoring and tofacilitate coordination among those Government ofPhilippines (GOP) agencies that carry out reforms as well asdevelopment partners that support them.