Public Sector Governance and Accountability Series: Budgeting and ...

Automating Public Financial Management in Developing Countries 351
TABLE 10.2 Pros and Cons of OTS versus Custom IFMISs
Type of system Pros Cons
OTS IT systems Standardized User required to come to the
Tested
system
Continuity of vendor High customization costs
Proprietary
Long lead time for procurement
Government locked into a
technology
Increasing costs
Lack of local sustainability
Custom, iterative IT System required to System design not proven
systems come to the user Lack of continuity of developer
Lower cost
Perception that a brand
Rapid delivery
name is needed
Meets exact user
specifications
System that can evolve
with technology
Development costs that
are dramatically declining
Source: DSA Project staff: Stephen Peterson, Adam Abate, Eric Chijioke, and Sally Houstoun.
the decision between an OTS and a custom solution, though important, is
not critical. A flexible OTS solution or a custom solution could, in principle,
be appropriate in a particular context.
The problem with OTS systems is not just lack of flexibility in meeting
user requirements. OTS systems lock countries in for many years.
Technology is rapidly improving and becoming more flexible, less expensive,
and more accessible. Locking countries into OTS systems precludes
developing countries from taking advantage of new technologies. One
new technology, the new XBRL (extensible business reporting language)
protocol, allows a custom financial application to share data across multiple
systems. 32
Lesson 4: Effective Project Selection and Management Are Major
Factors in the Success of Automation
A central risk in implementing financial information systems is the project,
not the package. Contractors are a major risk in the implementation of
financial information systems regardless of whether an OTS or a custom