What is SIAFI?

The Integrated System of Federal Government Financial Administration - SIAFI is the primary tool used in federal government budget and financial management. The system provides support to central, sectoral and executive public management entities, among which are included all of those organs belonging to the direct administration, semiautonomous agencies and foundations, state-owned companies, joint capital companies and entities pertaining to the legislative and judicial branches.

The National Treasury of Brazil, which is responsible for administration of federal government financial resources, is the principal user of SIAFI as the fundamental instrument in its task of monitoring and controlling federal government budget and financial execution.

In light of its legally defined responsibilities, the STN – as the SIAFI managing entity – is responsible for defining the rules and procedures covering utilization of the system and, consequently, for guidance in its use to public managers. Furthermore, the STN bears all of the costs consequent upon contracting of the required infrastructure, development and maintenance of the application and payment of the necessary technical personnel.

The essential characteristic of the system is its capillarity which allows all Management Units scattered throughout the country to access systematic records of documents (payment documents, bank orders, etc.) which are promptly and automatically translated into a set of accounting entries that, with total security and reliability, portray all inflows and expenditures effected, while also indicating the volume of financial resources available to the National Treasury.

SIAFI can be utilized to obtain the information required for elaborating the Federal Government Balance Sheet, as well as for generating budget and financial administration execution reports that are included in the records remitted by the President of the Republic to the National Congress, as required by the Federal Constitution.

In order to provide public sector managers with greater flexibility and autonomy in obtaining managerial information while supplying strategic areas of the public sector with the information needed to facilitate and improve the decision-making process, a new SIAFI model known as SIAFI management has been implemented. This system operates within a client/server architecture with an interface based on graphic resources that make it possible to create a more friendly dialogue between users and the System.

Though SIAFI has not only consolidated its position as an essential instrument of public spending control and transparency both for the different levels of government and for society itself, but also garnered international recognition and served as the model for construction of similar systems in several different countries, measures are underway for the purpose of totally reformulating the system both in technological and philosophical terms. This decision was made in response to growing demand for new functionalities and greater flexibility in information treatment, as well as growing interest in offering services that promote quality and productivity, while making it possible to adjust more rapidly to frequent changes in legislation and models.