The IMF helps countries to implement sound and appropriate policies through its key functions of surveillance, technical assistance, and lending.
Surveillance: Every country that joins the IMF accepts the obligation to subject its economic and financial policies to the scrutiny of the international community. The IMF's mandate is to oversee the international monetary system and monitor the economic and financial policies of its 188 member countries. This process, known as surveillance, takes place at the global level and in individual countries and regions. The IMF considers whether domestic policies promote countries’ own stability by examining risks they might pose to domestic and balance of payments stability and advising on needed policy adjustments. It also proposes alternatives in cases where countries’ policies promote domestic stability but could affect global stability.