Center of Excellence in Finance

The Center of Excellence in Finance (CEF) endorses the objectives of the Addis Tax Initiative (ATI) and has joined the ATI as a supporting organisation.

CEF is an international organisation with the mission to support capacity development for finance officials in South East Europe through peer-learning and exchange. It offers a regional knowledge hub for collecting, processing, and sharing knowledge as well as experiences of its members on topics such as public finance management, tax policy and administration, reform leadership, and policy analysis.

The CEF’s Tax Policy and Administration program intends to improve the management of core tax administration procedures, enhance performance management in tax administrations, and improve cooperation among tax administrations across borders. CEF supports tax administrations in increasing the efficiency and fairness of revenue administrations and reducing the costs of compliance in line with EU recommendations and international good practices.

In addition, CEF supports participatory approaches and recognizes the importance of peer learning by offering capacity building trainings focused on knowledge exchange and event management.

 CEF also operates an online campus where courses on varied topics such as Budget Preparation and Execution, Leadership for Managing Reforms, Tax Policy and Administration as well as Fiscal Implications of Structural Reforms , are taught.

In addition to being part of the ATI as a supporting organization, CEF also works closely with the International Monetary Fund and currently hosts two IMF Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) technical assistance advisors, covering public financial management and revenue administration. Moreover, CEF also publishes regular formal research reports, papers and briefings related to issues of tax policy and administration.