ISLAMABAD: The Institute of Cost and Management Accoun­tants (ICMA) on Wednesday recommended a set of measures as follow-up actions on Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment (GCDA) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for governance reforms in key regulatory, fiscal and judicial sectors to stop waste of national resources and revive national economy.

In a 52-page blue print presented to the government, the body of accounting and management professionals said its report contained a set of specific proposals across 32 priority areas. “It is our professional duty and national contribution to provide this blueprint for building stronger, more transparent and accountable institutions. We stand ready to support the government, the IMF, and all stakeholders in the vital work of implementation, leveraging the expertise of our members to drive meaningful and lasting reform,” wrote ICMA vice-president Muhammad Yasin to the government.

Mr Yasin explained that ICMA review translated the IMF’s diagnostic into a phased implementation matrix, assigning a set of specific actions to responsible agencies, including the Finance Division, FBR, and SECP, with clear short-, medium-, and long-term deadlines. “This transforms high-level recommendations into an accountable, government-wide project plan, directly addressing the historic gap between reform pledges and on-the-ground execution”, he said.

The report covered five critical pillars to drive national renewal. First, it targets budget and revenue leaks that drain public resources. To address IMF concerns over opaque budgeting, the ICMA blueprint champions an independent Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) for objective scrutiny and a Public Investment Monitoring Unit (PIMU) for real-time project oversight. There should also be a Revenue Intelligence Unit (RIU) within FBR for data-driven audits and a Tax Reform and Simplification Unit to rationalise complex laws. A dedicated SOE Performance and Oversight Unit should be mandated to curb fiscal drains, while a consolidated Debt Management Office should bring transparency and discipline to national borrowing.

Next, it focused on IMF findings on judicial backlog and weak contract enforcement saying the delayed justice was hindering business and citizen rights. It called for specialized commercial benches, nationwide digital case management, and publication of court performance data. A central pillar should be the strategic expansion of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), empowering the International Mediation and Arbitration Centre (IMAC) to unclog courts. To instill integrity, a comprehensive national ethics framework with verified conflict-of-interest disclosures has been proposed.

Then it talked about strengthening accountability to fight widespread corruption. It said the new plan should tackle the fragmented anti-corruption apparatus head-on.

To counter fragmentation noted by the IMF, ICMA proposed a National Anti-Corruption Coordination Council (NACC) to unify NAB, FIA, and provincial agencies through shared intelligence.

Enhanced whistleblower protections with secure channels have been emphasized. The report calls for merit-based, transparent appointments for the heads of all key regulatory bodies (SECP, CCP, NAB) to ensure independence and effectiveness.

After that, it called for digital and regulatory reform to modernize governance for a modern state.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2025