By Richard Johnstone | 28 August 2014

Latin American governments have been urged by the International Monetary Fund to integrate cash and debt management at the region’s latest forum on treasury operations.

The fifth Latin American Treasury Forum, which forms part of the IMF’s treasury management technical assistance programme for the region, was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, from August 20-22.

In its statement on the forum, the IMF said Marco Cangiano, the assistant director of its fiscal affairs department, highlighted the importance of integrating cash and debt management operations to governments.

In addition, the fund also emphasising that its newly-published Fiscal Transparency Code would provide a guide to improve transparency and strengthen the management of fiscal risks.

Other issues discussed at the forum included the management of sovereign wealth funds, the relationships between treasury and budget operations, and the organisational structure of treasuries in the region.

Thirteen Latin American countries participated in the seminar: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

Closing the event, Mario Bergara, Uruguay’s economy and finance minister, said it had provided a valuable exchange of ideas to ensure efficient, professional and transparent management of the public finances. The next forum seminar is planned for 2015 in the Dominican Republic.