Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 05/2013

Coordination Critical to Ensuring the Early Warning Exercise Is Effective

Bessma Momani

April 2013

Centre for International Governance Innovation

Abstract

The need for stronger surveillance and better foresight in financial governance was made clear during the global financial crisis. In 2009, the Group of Twenty sought to bolster these by initiating the semi-annual early warning exercise (EWE). The EWE is a critical mechanism for identifying systemic risks and vulnerabilities; however, several problems constrain its effectiveness. The exercises suffer from unclear goals, a lack of coordination, geographical separation, insufficient organizational capacity and ad hoc procedures. This policy brief offers recommendations to improve the exercise’s effectiveness.