BearingPoint delivers financial management system to Afghanistan

BearingPoint Inc. of McLean, Va., has installed and is helping to operate a financial management information system for the government of Afghanistan, the company announced Jan. 2.

The work is part of a $3.95 million contract the company, formerly known as KPMG Consulting Inc., won to help the government upgrade its accounting system.

The two-year project, financed by the World Bank, is viewed as a critical step to ensuring accountability for processing and reporting the government's operating budget, which is largely financed by international contributions.

An estimated $4 billion in international aid is expected to flow to the government, called the Islamic Transitional State of Afghanistan, and the financial management system will help track some of the money as the system's coverage grows to include grants for donor-funded projects, company officials said.

The system will be implemented in two phases, with the immediate phase creating the capability of electronically recording expenditures, producing checks and generating disbursement reports. BearingPoint will also assist the Ministry of Finance in recruiting employees and training them on the new system.

FreeBalance Inc., an Ottawa-based financials software developer, is BearingPoint's teammate on the project.