OpenGov spoke to Sri Hartati, Former Head of Information System & Technology, Ministry of Finance, Indonesia, about the Ministry’s plans to standardise their IT system across departments and to embrace fintech in upcoming years.
Before we got to future plans, Mrs. Sri Hartati briefed us on the history of IT within the Ministry of Finance and where it stands today. Her department has been working hard to integrate systems throughout the Ministry in order to allow for a complete and organised infrastructure.
“In 1975, MOF started the path towards digital transformation with the establishment of IT office. IT has been growing hence and 2010 marked the kick-off of throughout IT integration,” said Mrs. Sri Hartati.
“Back then, all of the separate departments had their own IT system and data centre. The Minister pushed the initiative to integrate these systems and allow for a more organised infrastructure across the board.”
Just this past year, Mrs. Sri Hartati and her team have been working to integrate the data within the Ministry and feed it into the Data Warehouse.
“Starting last year, MOF has integrated the data and developed the Data Warehouse. MOF proceeded by starting development of business process architecture. Once the business process architecture completed, MOF will integrate the system within the Ministry also known as Integrated Finance Management Information System (IFMIS),” Mrs. Sri Hartati told us.
Key IT Milestones for the Ministry of Finance
The Ministry of Finance has big plans set out for itself with some key milestones coming up in the next few years. The key milestones follow the digital transformation initiative, which commenced in 2014. Mrs. Sri Hartati shared the key milestones that have been starting from 2015 and will be continuing to 2025 as follows:
1. Complete centralisation of standard applications;
2. Develop e-corporate services;
3. Improve revenue and expenditure systems;
4. Implement common risk engine;
5. Implement enterprise IT security; and
6. Implement Disaster Recovery Plan.
“The digital transformation plans began in 2014. This year, MOF focuses on the through centralisation of standard applications,” Mrs. Sri Hartati informed us.
“Every unit used to have their own system, infrastructure, and data centre, which were not standardised. The work MOF is doing this year will fix this.”
MOF Work in Providing Online Services
In working towards these key milestones, the Ministry must focus on implementing new online services for citizens.
“MOF is developing more channels for citizens to pay their taxes and submit the necessary documents. Right now, MOF is working on e-corporate services and the next generation of revenue systems,” Mrs. Sri Hartati stated.
In addition to these developments, the Ministry has concrete plans to improve several budget, financial, and revenue systems.
“MOF is working on implementing and improving budget and financial systems such as SPAN, OM-SPAN, and MPN. MOF is also developing SIDJP and CEISA in order to improve revenue systems,” Mrs. Sri Hartati added.
With mobile penetration rates at an all-time high within Indonesia, these plans are essential to digital transformation within all Government Ministries.
Impact of Fintech on Citizens of Indonesia
Fintech will surely have a lasting impact on Indonesia’s citizens as they will have more avenues to access services provided by financial organisations. The Ministry of Finance plays an important role in this vision as they will drive standards and policies, applicable to public and private sectors.
Mrs. Sri Hartati described the national economic impact that fintech will have on the citizens of Indonesia in the following statement.
“The Ministry of Finance has continued to support the nation’s financial health and economic growth for decades,” Mrs. Sri Hartati stated, “Based on Budget Statements 2016, in recent years, Indonesia’s GDP growth has stabilised at around 6 percent per annum. National revenues in the period of 2010 – 2014 has increased significantly by an average of 11.7 percent per year.”
As for the transformational change, Mrs. Sri Hartati recognised that the Ministry has overcome several obstacles to get to the place it stands today.
