PricewaterhouseCoopers in Iceland offers a variety of different services to the public sector. We work locally with the public sector on different projects and we have an extensive experience and knowledge of the infrastructure, the working procedures and the challenges faced by the public sector.
The last national elections changed the political landscape in Iceland after a 12 year rule of a coalition government which consisted of the Progressive Party and the Independence Party. Today the government is a coalition between the Social Democratic Party and the Independence Party, which maintained its leading role in government. Their declared goals, among others, are to reduce the number of ministries and move specific issues and responsibilities to a more suitable ministry. The Icelandic public sector has thus experienced a time of transition.
Among the changes are the following:
- Pensions and other issues regarding senior citizens have been moved to the Ministry of Family and General Welfare, formerly known as the Ministry of Social Affairs, from the Ministry of Health and Social Security, by consequence decreasing its overall role.
- Responsibility for local authorities has been moved from the Ministry of Family and General Welfare to the Ministry of Communications, as well as the Housing Financing Fund, which has become the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance.
- Issues related to tourism have been moved from the Ministry of Communications to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
- Issues related to international development have been moved from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of Commerce.
- The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has been divided into two independent Ministries.
- The Ministry of Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture have been merged and placed under the responsibility of only one Minister. Soil reclamation and forestry has been moved from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Environment, as well as education related to agriculture, which has been moved to the Ministry of Education.
- Statistics Iceland is no longer a Ministry but became an independent public institution.
These changes will most likely affect the public administration immediately, although full implementation might take time.
As an independent body with broad expertise we can assist governments in reaching their goals, such as simplifying and modernising the public administration and improving public services. We have a skilled and experienced team which can for example bring you:
- Expertise of the implementation of e-government and the use of ICT in improving public services and facilitating the communication between the public and the government.
- Advise on policy implementation and compliance processes.
- Advise on the restructuring of institutions to achieve reduced costs.
- Expertise on EU institutions and processes.
- Consultancy for improved working procedures to improve transparency, efficiency and appropriate prioritisation.
- Expertise in internal control.
- Expertise in transactions and financial analysis.
It is important for the public sector to explore new ways in delivering public services, create sustainable institutions and promote practicality. Private/Public Partnership (Icelandic only) can open new opportunities for the public sector. Part of our services to the public sector is acting as an advisor in finding the right partnership, ways to fund projects and achieve desired results.
