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FG scrutinises MDAs’ accounting records, bank statements

By BusinessNews Staff on December 12, 2013

The Federal Government, through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, has begun the electronic inspection of the accounting records and bank statements of its ministries, departments and agencies.

The OAGF said the inspection was part of the ongoing public financial management reforms embarked upon by the government.

It said a new electronic inspection unit was inaugurated by the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Jonah Otunla, for the purpose of eradicating leakages in government revenue and expenditure.

The Director, Treasury Inspectorate Department, OAGF, Mr. Yemi Adelakun, told our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday that the unit was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment that would enable the department to monitor the financial transactions of the MDAs as well as Nigeria’s diplomatic missions overseas.

He said actual preparation for the commencement of the audit began in June this year when the OAGF acquired the equipment and issued circulars to the MDAs to forward their accounting returns in electronic formats, and log on to the Internet, among other activities.

“So, when all these were secured and the unit set, it was then inaugurated by the Accountant-General of the Federation for the full commencement of the inspection of accounting records of the MDAs,” Adelakun said.

The unit, he said, was also equipped with accounting and analytical software packages such as SKYSOFT Public Accounting Software, ACL Analytic Software and IDEA Caseware Software.

Adelakun stated that the aim of the unit was to effectively minimise leakages in government revenue, expenditure and enhance value-for-money in budget implementation.

He added that corruption was expected to be curbed drastically through the activities of the new unit.

According to him, the ultimate goal of the electronic inspection is to monitor accounting records and bank accounts of the MDAs online and real time, and minimise physical visits of inspectors to the MDAs.

This, he said, would require special funding in next year’s budget and continuous training of the inspectorate officers.

Adelakun pointed out that electronic copies of accounting returns, assets database, bank statements, returns of capital projects being forwarded by the MDAs and diplomatic missions were being analysed and reviewed at the OAGF to identify high risk areas, prevent or detect fraud, determine expenditure pattern, ensure value-for-money and update the database of Federal Government’s assets across the federation and abroad.

[Punch]

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