Finance Minister Madi Takiyev spoke about how data is becoming the foundation of budget policy, why the very philosophy of management is changing, and what role artificial intelligence plays in this process.
– Madi Tokeshevich, today digitalization has become a key topic for all government agencies. How is it changing the public finance system?
– Digitalization is changing not the tools, but the very philosophy of management. We are moving from a fragmented system, where each process existed separately, to a holistic model in which all elements are interconnected and work as a single organism. This applies to all levels of public finance: from tax administration to budget planning. For example, we have already reduced the number of information systems in the public revenue block from 14 to 5 and built a unified technological foundation, on the basis of which key solutions are being developed, such as the Integrated Tax Administration System (ISNA), Smart Data Finance, and Keden. Previously, financial management was largely reactive: an event would occur first, then we would analyze it, and only then make decisions. Today, thanks to digital solutions, it is possible to see the picture in advance: forecast revenues, assess risks, understand where imbalances may arise. This is essentially a transition from accounting to management. And in this, we see the main significance of digitalization for public finances.
– Can we already talk about specific results of this transformation?
– Yes, and it is important that these results are not only quantitative but also qualitative. On the one hand, we see growth in the revenue base, and it is largely driven by increased administration efficiency. But no less important is that the very structure of the system has changed. For instance, ISNA today serves 2.2 million taxpayers, over 136 thousand people use the system daily, and the processing time for key operations has been reduced multiple times: closing the operational day – from 18 to 3 hours, processing payments – from 15 to 3 minutes, documents – from 1 hour to 1 minute.
Such changes are not just an acceleration of processes, but a completely different level of manageability. Furthermore, we are actively developing Smart Data Finance – a big data platform that already accumulates information from 78 sources and forms a comprehensive digital dossier for each taxpayer. But perhaps our main result is trust in the system. When processes are transparent and logical, it creates a completely different attitude from business and society.
– How deeply are data and analytics used today?
– Today, data is the foundation of the entire system. We no longer work with individual indicators but see the complete picture. Through Smart Data Finance, a so-called digital profile is formed, which includes information on real estate, transport, transactions, employment contracts, financial operations, and other parameters. This allows us to see not only individual operations but also the interconnections and behavior of economic participants. This fundamentally changes the approach to administration. Control becomes targeted and justified. We intervene less where there are no risks and focus attention on truly problematic areas. Simultaneously, we are implementing elements of artificial intelligence in budget revenue forecasting, risk management, and transaction analysis. This is the next step, which will allow a transition to even more precise and proactive management.
– How has digitalization affected the fight against the shadow economy?
– The effect here is indeed tangible. Today, key tools are electronic invoices and big data analytics. The full transition to E-invoices has made it possible to identify fictitious transactions automatically. According to system data, over 10 thousand taxpayers were identified with signs of fictitious transactions amounting to about 8.5 trillion tenge, with over 3 thousand of them already having revoked invoices worth 822 billion tenge.
It is important that the system operates without human involvement: it itself records anomalies and restricts further operations if risks are present. This makes control more objective and reduces the scope for abuse. As a result, the environment itself changes: it becomes less profitable to operate "in the shadows" and, conversely, more comfortable in the legal field.
– And what is happening with the expenditure side of the budget?
– Here, we are also consistently implementing digital approaches. If previously planning largely relied on average indicators, today we use real data: receipts, invoices, procurement statistics. Integration with the National Product Catalog plays a key role here. Today, the system already contains over 15 million product items, and data on over 400 million receipts are transmitted through integrations with cash registers and other systems. Additionally, the Price Database is operational, having already processed over 150 million cash receipts and accumulating information on 650 thousand product items.
Preventive control has become an important element. We do not just check expenses after they are made, but analyze them even at the planning stage. This allows us to identify unjustified expenses before they enter the budget.
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