Building Trust in Public Finance: Digital Transformation and Financial System Integrity in Government

This paper advances a rigorous, systems-oriented analysis of how digitized fiscal architectures can transform public financial governance into a corruption-resistant and trust-driven ecosystem. Drawing on contemporary scholarship and global reform evidence, the study demonstrates that the integration of artificial intelligence, blockchain-based auditability, and secure digital payment infrastructures offers a structural deterrent to fraud by integrating transparency, traceability, and automated compliance into the core of government financial operations. The proposed Digital Integrity Framework positions technology beyond an accessory and as an institutional safeguard that reconfigures accountability from discretionary oversight to continuous, data-verified monitoring. The analysis further illuminates the socio-technical and regulatory challenges that constrain adoption, ranging from legacy system inertia and capacity gaps to cybersecurity and privacy risks while outlining a governance model capable of orchestrating multi-stakeholder coordination, standard-setting, and phased implementation. Lastly, the paper argues that a resilient, corruption-resistant public finance environment arises when governments integrate digital trust mechanisms, strengthen policy coherence, and adopt globally aligned performance metrics. In doing so, digital innovation becomes a catalyst for efficiency and institutional legitimacy, fiscal transparency, and sustained public confidence.