This blog post describes and analyzes website information on The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and The U.S Treasury Department, and how the information can be used on a personal and professional basis.
Introducing IMF: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization that represents 188 countries, which is more than 75% of the countries on earth. It has its headquarters in Washing D.C here in the United States of America.
IMF focuses on fostering global monetary cooperation and securing financial stability. It also promotes high job creations and sustainable economic growth, facilitates international trade as well as working toward poverty reduction. (IMF, February 2016)
IMF’s ensures that international monetary systems are stable and reliable by using three major approaches.
(i) It follows and keeps track of the world’s economy and the economies of the 188 member countries.
(ii) Offering practical and technical help to member countries where a need arises.
(iii) Carefully and strategically lending money to member countries, including those that are experiencing extreme payment problems. By so doing, those countries are allowed a chance to rebuild their international reserves. Also, it allows those nations to stabilize their currencies, regulate inflation, manage imports, grow economically while revising and implementing better policies to permit economic growth.
Other IMF operation tools include;
Overseeing the international monetary systems and monitoring the various financial and economic policies of its member countries on both global & individual member country level.
Amidst all that, IMF ensures that the responsible parties and countries get the necessary training to help them manage their finances better and avoid credit crunches or financial depressions.
Personal and Professional use of the information:
The above information on IMF helps me understand why certain global events happen the way they do. I can use the information on the website to determine what countries are more financially stable as well as determine the fastest growing economies, which is helpful in case one needs to invest. Investors like you and I are interested in injecting money, offering/receiving services, or starting businesses in economies that appear to be consistently more stable.
IMF’s website avails helpful financial reports, which can be reviewed to give us a great insight into the nature of financial events and general economic growth.
The US Treasury Department:
The Treasury Department located in Washington DC in the USA. It seeks to maintain a strong economy and create job opportunities through availing and boosting conditions that permit growth of the economy. More emphasis is also directed toward economic stability at home and overseas, threat and crime prevention as well as protecting financial systems from being compromised. They ensure that the existing systems are effective and efficient. They manage both the resources and finances of the United States Government. (Treasury, 2016)
Some of the Treasury Activities Include:
· Offering Presidential advice on economic and financial matters.
· Enforcing professionalism of financial institutions such as banks among others.
· Paying the American public, collect revenue, and borrow funds necessary to run the federal government.
· Boosting and encouraging sustainable economic growth.
· Maintains key national financial systems and infrastructure e.g. Coin & currency production, and many more activities.
Other roles of the Treasury Department include;
1. Tax collection plus paying any pending US government bills, loans and debts.
2. Giving advice to the government on foreign trade.
3. The treasury supervises national banks and/or federal financial institutions.
4. Law enforcement of government tax/financial laws & policies.
5. Management of Federal finances.
6. Investigates and prosecutes tax evaders, fraud & counterfeiters.
7. offers Federal Bookkeeping services.
So, how is the Treasury Department organized?
It’s mainly organized in two departments which are;
(i) The Operating Bureaus.
(ii) The Departmental Offices.
The Departmental Offices are the policy formulators and are also the general managers of the entire department. The Operating Bureaus do the specific operations allotted to them by the Department.
Personal and Professional use of the information:
The website information can be used to determine how the economy is performing. Knowing a country’s economy is great because it gives investors a chance to predict the future and to know what direction to head in terms of business. The future may not always be predicted accurately, but somewhat more accurately with this information at hand than if someone did not have the information whatsoever.
Also, the information allows me to determine who is responsible for what and how to reach them since the website provides sub-departmental contact information and links to services offered, making it is easy to determine how to get help once needed.
The information gives me the confidence that inflation and other financial and money matters that would otherwise have affected the economic growth are being monitored, controlled and regulated. It also makes me aware of the existing job creation services and opportunities for work that job seekers could make use of so solve unemployment.
The information gives me the confidence that taxes are collected and in most cases are used and applied appropriately for the benefit of this nation.
International Monetary Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved February, 2016, from www.imf.org
U.S Department of Treasury. (n.d.). Retrieved February, 2016, from www.treasury.gov
Google IMF & Treasury Images. (n.d.). Retrieved February, 2016, from https://www.google.com
