By Caleb Agyekum Aidoo
The two-day Annual Conference of the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department CAGD has ended at Kwahu Nkwatia in the Eastern Region with a call on the Department to comprehensively implement government interventions such as GIFMIS, E- Travel Card and Treasure Single Accounts which are geared towards government commitment in minimizing financial malpractices and wasteful public spending.
The Annual Conference of the Controller and Accountant-General-Department CAGD is an important event on the Department’s calendar. It assembles selected staff from all MDA’s and MMDA’s and stakeholders of the Department to assess the performance of the CADG in the previous year, seek ideas from participants and stakeholders to improve its operations in the ensuing year and also work out mechanisms to institutionalize existing best practices.
The Minister of Tourism Culture and Creative Arts, Awal Mohammed, who represented the Senior Presidential Advisor, Yaw Osafo Marfo, spoke on the themed “Building a Sustainable Economy: The Role of the Public Sector Accountant” entreated the Public Accountants to be vigilant in conducting their mandate this he said, will enable them avoid infractions which consistently appear in the Auditor General’s Report.
He added that in order to achieve targets set out in Public Financial Management PFM, the Department must use innovative ways to complement their work. On the current state of the economy Mr Awal Mohammed had this to say.
The Controller and Accountant-General, Kwasi Kwaning-Bosompem, launching the Operational Manual of the Department said the essence of the manual seeks to streamline, fine-tune and simplify the operations of the Department and also provide a comprehensive guide for stakeholders who do business with the Department. He added that the manual also seeks to solve the challenges with ambiguity in tasks and responsibilities that also causes conflicts within their work environment.
The Annual Conference brought together a total of five hundred delegates comprising Heads of Account at the various Ministries, Department and Agencies MDAs Regional Directors of CADG, Financial Officers at various MMDAs and Regional Coordinating Councils RCCs.
Some of the topics they treated included stakeholders’ role in enhancing value for money in public expenditure management and deepening the usage of GIFMIS for effective financial reporting and accountability.
