The Controller and Accountant-General Department has organised a three-day workshop for metropolitan, municipal and district finance officers in the Ashanti Region to address the weaknesses in financial management and other lapses in the utilisation of public funds.
The workshop, was attended by 200 participants from the region to upgrade their skills in accounting for the management of public funds and resources.
It also focused on the compliance with the financial laws and expenditure controls to facilitate the usage of accounting data and reports.
The programme will be replicated in the remaining nine regions.
The workshop was necessitated by the recent audit reports that revealed weaknesses in financial management by the metropolitan, municipal and district financial officers in managing public accounts.
Among the topics treated at the workshop were financial responsibilities of public officers, organisational structure, revenue budgeting, budget implementation, internal controls, auditing, banking procedures and bank reconciliation.
Others were Chart of Accounts, Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System, reconciliation of financial transactions and financial reporting.
In an address, the Deputy Controller and Accountant-General in charge of treasuries, Mr James Ntim Amponsah, gave the assurance that the department would regularly update the skills of financial officers and also encourage them to share useful knowledge to enable them to deliver quality service to the public.
He said like any human institutions, public service “ is dynamic and is subject to change in terms of skills, technology and laws”.
He said since programmers of such nature were indispensable, it was important for them to be adequately focused on issues that promote public funds and resources to ensure efficient and effective management and maximum gain.
For his part, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Kofi Opoku Manu, expressed concern about the lapses in financial accounts in recent times and called for a responsible system that would enhance transparency in public funds.
He said lapses in public accounts did not only undermine sustainable socio-economic development, but also affected government’s quest in initiating programmes and projects that would make the better Ghana agenda feasible.
Mr Opoku Manu said the government was committed to delivering on its campaign promises, and therefore, urged the participants to be focused on addressing all lapses in financial management.
The Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Mr Samuel Sarpong, noted that it was important for financial officers to comply with financial management and regulations to make the decentralisation process in the country feasible.
“ We must be guided by the financial regulations and procedures put in place so that at the appropriate times, we can account to the people we serve,” he said.
“We need to be efficient and effective in the management of public financial resources in spite of the challenges and concerns associated with the system”, he said.
Mr Sarpong, however, expressed concern about some of the financial procedures in the country, describing them as “obsolete and not in tune with current developments”.
He said the “ non implementation of composite budgeting is a great barrier to fiscal decentralisation at the district level .In many cases, the current legislation and practices continue to centralise public funds.
Funds continue to be controlled in the central ministries and departments, while functions have been transferred to the district assemblies”.
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