ISODEC IFFs Academy training in Accra-Ghana
The Ghana
Statistical Service (GSS) and the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC)
are delighted to invite applications from government agencies involved in
battling illicit financial flows in Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone,
campaigners and academics who would like to attend our five-day practical
Illicit Financial Flows(IFFs) Measurement training course in Accra-Ghana.
The dates for the
Accra training will be: Monday 10th April, 2023 –Friday 14th
April 2023
The deadline for applications is 30th
March, 2023 at 17 h00 BST
You do not need to have a financial
background to apply but we consider it important when selecting candidates to
see evidence of your IFFS mandate, data analysis and or advocacy experience.
Class instructions will take place in only English without provision for
translation.
WHY ATTEND?
Over five days,
you will gain practical skills on how to analysis import and export data for
evidence of over-invoicing and or under-invoicing. We
will show you where to find data and documents, how to analyse them and other
practical tools to help uncover trade mis-pricing using the UNCTAD recommended
methods and approaches.
A combination of
hands-on training and guidance from senior practitioners will give you the
basis to analyse import and export customs data as well as offering the
opportunity to network with other country’s government agencies and activists.
The course aims
to help participants understand:
1. The meaning and
definition of Illicit Financial Flows;
2. The limited and
wider definition of Illicit Financial Flows;
3. The six UNCTAD recommended
methods for measuring IFFs at country level in accordance to the UN SDG 16.4.1.
4. The data required
for measuring IFFs
5. The channels of
transmission of IFFs at country level
6. How to measure
IFFs from import and export trade using customs data
7. How to conduct
institutional/data mapping of your country
8. How to conduct
IFFs Risks Assessment of your country
9. How to produce a
road map for further work on IFFs in your country and what support you can
expect from the ISODEC IFFs Academy and partners.
Who Should
Attend?
Government
agencies relevant for the tackling of IFFs in Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and
Sierra Leone, especially central banks, Ministries of Finance, Tax authorities,
Customs, Financial Intelligence Centre(FICs), Parliamentary committees on
public accounts, anti-corruption and Anti-IFFs, National Statistical Offices;
CSOs-NGOs
involved in IFFs research/advocacy, budgets and public finance, think-tanks and
media in each of the four countries;
Academics hoping
to provide consultancy on IFFs or add it to their teaching curriculum in their
business schools or department of economics;
All Technical
Working Group members of countries undergoing the UNCTAD/UNECAS support pilot
to measure IFFs are encouraged to attend the virtual one from their countries
if they are unable to attend in person.
How will the
Training be delivered?
This five-day
training will be a mix method of face-to-face and virtual. A limited number of participants will attend
the face-to-face training at their own expense (Air tickets, hotel boarding and
lodging). All other approved
participants will join the training virtually using Microsoft Teams platform.
Each person
attending whether in person or virtually is required to:
1. Have their own
internet connected device (laptop, PC, tablet) with adequate data and good
bandwidth;
2. Have their own
country data or join someone who has the data
3. Be present
throughout the training in order to gain the full benefits of the training as
there will be a follow-up to the country level to carry out actual trade mispricing
computation using real country data in accordance with the SDG 16.4.1
4. Devote the five
days to working 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening after lunch
5. Commit to following
through with this exercise at the country level until their country has
produced draft IFFs inflows and outflows in accordance with the SDGs 16.4.1 to
enable their country to report to the UN
Who will
Facilitate this Training?
The IFFs Academy
has a team of experienced experts with hands-on experience in the analysis of
country data using the two methods, Partner Country and Price Filter Methods
for international trade (import and export) data analysis. Please go to https://bit.ly/3YhVKOb for details and
profiles of all resource persons.
For this
training, two trainers Dr Ama Asantewah and Bishop Akolgo will be present
throughout the session on-site while others from UNCTAD/UNECA will join us
virtually.
Dr Ama Asantewah
holds a PhD in Economics, Lectures in the University of Ghana-Legon and has
been involved in the Curbing IFFs project that brings together the University of
Ghana, government agencies and others in Civil Society Institutes to research
and publish on IFFs on Ghana, Laos and other countries. So far Ama and her team
have analysed IFFs in Ghana’s Gold, Coca and petroleum. Ama is also a member of Ghana Technical
Working Group that is leading Ghana’s efforts to measure IFFs in commercial and
tax from the period 2000 to 2021.
Ama has been
involved in a number of IFFs workshops and events including:
•
“Abnormal Pricing in International Commodity Trading: Methodology” GSS/UNCTAD
- UNECA Workshop on Measurement of IFFs – Ghana. Accra. 7th – 11th March 2022,
•
“Curbing Commodity Trade-Related Illicit Financial Flows: Policy Options
for Ghana” Multi-stakeholder Workshop. Accra, 25th January 2022, “Abnormal Pricing in International Commodity
Trading: Evidence from Ghana”, “UNECA Workshop on IFFs for Ghana, Senegal, and
Burkina Faso. Accra, 28th September 2021 and 21st October 2021, “Commodity
Trade-related Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs): Evidence of Abnormal Pricing in
Commodity Exports from Ghana”, “Conference on the Study of African Economies,
Economic Development in Africa Workshop, Addis Ababa
•
University, 12 – 15 December 2019”, “Curbing Illicit Financial Flows
(IFFs) from Resource-rich Developing Countries”, “Plenary Workshop at the
Graduate Institute of International and Development
•
Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, 12 – 17 February 2019”.
Ama has co-published
a research paper on IFFs: Ahene-Codjoe, A. A., and Alu, A. (2019), Commodity Trade-related Illicit
Financial Flows: Evidence of Abnormal Pricing in Commodity Exports from Ghana.
Working Paper No. R4D-IFF-WP03-2019.
Work on petroleum is currently undergoing peer review toward
publication.
Bishop Akolgo holds
an MSc. in International Development, and an MSc. in Economics and has just
completed his Doctoral studies. He is
the UNCTAD national consultant on IFFs providing technical support to the
government of Ghana through the Ghana Statistical Service to measure IFFs in accordance
with the SDG 16.4.1. Before that Bishop
designed and implemented the Consortium of Ghana government, UNDP-Ghana, Trust-Africa
initiative to measure IFFs in Ghana’s trade with the EU and USA for the period
2000 and 2012 when he was the Executive Director ISODEC. He has also designed the Ghana IFFs pilot
under the UNCTAD/UNECA which has carried out two training programmes so
far.
He has also
provided technical assistance to other African Technical Working Groups on
IFFs. Bishop has been involved in
ISODEC’s macroeconomic modeling work since 2000 including the design of input-output
models for Ghana, SADA area and the Western Region, national Distributional
Effects of policies model for Ghana and a multiplier model for Ghana and SADA
area. He has since been working with
ActiveViam on Python-based computer models for using the six UNCTAD/UNECA
methods for measuring IFFs. Two of these
models (Partner Country and Price Filter) have already been tested with the
Ghana Technical Working Group on the measurement of IFFs. These models will be introduced at this
training workshop and used for the training and subsequent work on the
estimation of IFFs at the country level using country data.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply, please
fill in Click
this link to fill out the form. Please complete the country IFFs Risk and
data mapping of your country as attached.
The deadline for
your application is Monday 30 March 2023 at 08h00 BST. We aim
to inform successful participants by Thursday 5th April 2023.
The training has
two parts:
1. First part is an intro to IFFs for the benefit
of newcomers from Ghana and Nigeria and Liberia/Sierra Leone:
a. Recap country skills gap study-Government
agencies and CSOs
b. Country reporting requirements under SDG
16.4.1
c. Definition of IFFs and key concepts
d. Country Risks Assessment
e. Institutional mapping
f.
Data mapping
g. Technical Working Group-membership and
functions
2. Part two:
a. Country vulnerability, intensity and exposure
to IFFs
b. Selecting methods for estimating IFFs
c. Mapping country data and required methods
d. Practical exercises using real but anonymized
Country Trade data applying PCM and PFMs
e. Hands-on-country-by-country using their own
data to practice
f.
Mapping next
steps-country-by-country
3. Etc.
TIMETABLE (Subject to
minor alteration)
Day One: Monday 10 April 2023
08:15-09:00 Introductions of
the ISODEC IFFs Academy and Faculty
9.00-9:30 Introduction of participants and
trainers for the sessions
09:30-12:30 An introduction to help you understand
the roots and history of IFFs, its scale, the techniques used to avoid, evade
and launder, and policy responses and relevant institutions.
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-18:0 Understanding IFFs
situation and extent
§ Country Risks Assessment
§ Institutional mapping
§ Data mapping
§ Technical Working Group membership and
functions
- Bringing
it all together and close for the day
Day Two: Tuesday 11 April 2023
9:00-10:15 Country vulnerability, intensity and exposure to
IFFs-country-by-country
10:15 to 12:30 The UNCTAD/UNECA recommended six methods for
measuring IFFs
Selecting
methods for estimating IFFs
12:30-13.30 Lunch
13.30-14:30 Mapping
country data and required methods
14:30-16:00 Practical
exercises using real but anonymized Country Trade data applying PCM and PFMs:
•
Ghana
•
Nigeria
16:15- 17:15 Preparing for practice dividing up into
country teams
Day Three: Wednesday 12 April 2023
09:15-10:30 Hands-on applying
the Partner country method-preparing the data
BREAK
10:45 – 12:00 Analysing exports
12:00 – 13:00 Analysing imports
13:00 – 13:45 Lunch
13:45 – 15:00 Continue hands-on
BREAK
15:15 – 16:00 Continue.
16:00 – 17:00 Recap day and homework
Day Four: Thursday 13 April 2023 – Continue
hands-on
8:00-10:00 Analysis of exports using Price
Filter method
10:00-10:30 Break
10.30-12.00 Analysis of imports using Price Filter
method
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-14:00 Bringing it all
together
14:00-17:00 Building a consensus in the room around
fundamental concepts, definition, multi-stakeholder and app-of-government
approach to tackling IFFs:
·
Which key institutions must be on the table
because they have mandate, data and analysis capacity on IFFs?
·
What sectors are most vulnerable to IFFs?
·
What is being done now and how do we do
better?
·
How do we ensure an all-of-government approach
to tackling IFFs in our countries?
Day Five: Friday, 14 April 2023 – Road
Map for further work country-by-country
Morning:
•
Take stock of the country’s situation in light
of the training
•
Revisit the Institutional mapping and identify
clear institutional and practice gaps
Afternoon:
•
Identify gaps in current knowledge/skills and
suggestions for filling them
•
Agree time schedule for further work per
country.
Suggested
reading:
- SAB
Miller’s tax avoidance in Ghana,
- Associated
British Food’s tax
avoidance in Zambia
- Reports
from TJN on Price of Offshore Revisited
- Simon
Bowers ICIJ Paradise Papers article
on Nike
This training is being delivered by ISODEC’s IFFs Academy with Funding support from the Open Society Initiative of West Africa (OSIWA)