Türkiye has taken "major steps forward" in fiscal transparency in the last decade, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a recent assessment, with a top Turkish economy official lauding the improvement and tying it to institutional transformation.
The Fiscal Transparency Evaluation Update, which examines Türkiye's practices in the areas such as fiscal statistics, budget management, fiscal risks and accountability, has been published by the IMF on Oct. 21.
"Over the past decade since the last fiscal transparency evaluation, Türkiye has taken major steps forward in fiscal transparency, and is now among the top tier of countries internationally," the IMF said in the summary of the assessment.
Based on an assessment of practices against the IMF’s Fiscal Transparency Code, Türkiye’s practices are strongest in fiscal reporting, followed by fiscal forecasting and budgeting, with some room left for further reforms in the area of fiscal risk analysis, it further said.
It also said that some macro-critical gaps in the understanding of public finances remain.
"In the 2015 evaluation, Türkiye had good or advanced levels of implementation in about half of the principles in the Fiscal Transparency Code, but this ratio has now risen to two-thirds. Thus, our country has ranked among the top in fiscal transparency among approximately 40 countries, including the United Kingdom, Finland, Ireland, Austria, and Portugal," Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said in a post on X on Saturday.
"This significant achievement is a concrete result of the institutional transformation that has been ongoing for more than 20 years," he added.
"Our efforts to implement structural reforms that will further enhance fiscal transparency continue."