Tackling Emerging Challenges In Public Sector Finance In Nasarawa

The event, which was the brainchild of the Office of the Accountant-General through the State Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, aimed at exposing the state’s finance handlers to the new professional trend in response to technological advancements and changing regulatory landscape in a bid to bring about the much needed reforms in the management of the state’s resources.

Perhaps the chairman of the DFAs Forum, Mr Adego Ubam, aptly described the objective of the training with the theme, “Overcoming Challenges on Financial Transparency and Accountability at the Sub-National Level”, much better.

According to him, the workshop, which he said, was the first of its kind, provided the opportunity for professionals in the field to collectively rob minds and find solutions to the emerging challenges of financial management in the State.

He also said the gesture would further refresh and improve the knowledge of financial managers by introducing new trends in the accounting profession and its application on the day-to-day financial transactions in the State among others.

The event initiator who is the Accountant-General of the state, Dr Ahmed Mohammed, said the training was to refresh and update the knowledge of the participants, as well as improve their capacity by introducing new trends of events in financial management.

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Speaking while declaring the workshop open  Governor Abdullahi Sule commended the organisers for coming up with an idea which he said was apt and in tandem with the reform agenda of his administration.

The governor, who acknowledged that the initiative was the first in the life of his administration ,urged participants to make use of the opportunity of the training, adding that the knowledge would greatly assist in the ongoing move to take the state on the path of development and growth.

“As you are aware, accountability and transparency are critical in effective Public Financial Management and Reporting. It is for this reason that it becomes necessary to engage our heads of accounts on this Workshop in order to ensure that resources are used efficiently and ethically,” he stated.

Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning, Hon. Munirat Abdullahi, said her ministry was working hard to harness the revenue potential of the state for the benefit of the people.

“One of our primary goals is to enhance our internally generated revenue. Let us harness the wealth of resources Nasarawa State possesses through innovative strategies and efficient tax collection, we can secure the funds crucial for development projects,” she said.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Head of Civil Service, Abigail Waya, said the training was facilitated towards breaching the gap in skills and understanding of the digital world, with a view to impacting knowledge on the participants on how to use technology for accountability and transparency in Nasarawa State.

Top professionals in the field of accounting and taxation including erudite academics took the participants through various means of achieving excellence in accounting services.

Professor Sunday Mlanga, Director Academic Planning of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) University, Kwall, Plateau State, in his paper titled: “Skills enhancement for excellence in accounting services”, observed that accounting processes have gone beyond the traditional bookkeeping and financial statement preparation, adding that accountants are now expected to provide strategic insights, financial analysis, and advisory services to help organisations thrive in a competitive environment.

He said it was therefore imperative for practitioners to embrace emerging dynamics by constantly upgrading their skills by being technologically proficient and keeping up with changing tax codes, financial reporting and auditing requirements amongst others.

Also, Professor Musa Fodio of ANAN University who spoke on contemporary issues and trends in public sector accounting reforms, identified five critical areas for effective turn around in the sector. This includes financial reporting reforms, public sector management accounting reforms, integrated reporting, social and environmental accounting as well as sustainable development goals and information disclosure.

“Implementation of PSA and digital technology tools based on good international standards and practices, such as IPSAS-Accrual, PSMA represents an opportunity for governments to significantly improve the quality, reliability, and comparability of their financial and ono-financial information; enhance decision-making process of the high-level public officials; and raise the overall levels of fiscal transparency and public sector accountability and performance.

“However, for reforms to be indeed successful, the treasury house will need to take the lead in collaboration with all stakeholders in the executive, legislative and judicial arm,” he explained.

In their various interventions, Doshiro Musa Umar, Professor of Accounting and Finance  and member of Governing Council of ANAN;  Kennedy Iwundu, Associate Professor, Forensic Accounting and Fraud Management in ICT University, USA (Cameroon Campus); and Akolo Peters Ataka, Director of Budget in the State Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, provided insights on the way forward.

In the end, the need for immediate rotation of Directors of Finance & Accounts to enhance exposure and improve financial management; introduction of Cloud-9 (Microsoft Dynamic 365 financial system) and other accounting software data analytics tools in the treasury management in State; need for immediate adoption and implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) accrual in the state; gradual adoption and implementation of Public Sector Accounting (PSA) reforms in the state; adoption and acquisition of digital technology treasury management tools in the state; amendment of existing legal and regulatory frameworks in line with current global practice to facilitate overall success of Public Sector Accounting (PSA) reforms in the state; need to embrace requisite skills, through upskilling, reskilling and continuous long-term learning; and need to widen the scope of financial reporting, by including Integrated Reporting (IR), Social and Environmental Accounting (SEA), and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) & information disclosure were some of the takeaways from the training.

The need to reintroduce internet checks on the financial transactions in order to avoid mismanagement of resources;

There were also the suggestions on the need to to adopt ‘self-charge’ of VAT in an event of non-inclusion by the company to enhance revenue generation in the State; need to remit taxes within 14 days and file return within 21 days of the succeeding month in line with tax regulations; need for adherence to the provision of Tax Schedule Rates in the collection and remittances; stiffer sanctions for any Accounting Officer who fails to remit when taxes are deducted;  need to synchronize the Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Tax Promax and the integrated systems of 37 Internal Revenue Services across the country to enable taxpayers access their tax credits; need to develop data of all private organizations to ascertain the level of remittance of taxes to Government; need to encouraged the patronage of enterprises domiciled in the State in order to boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR); and need to adherence to the tax deduction on the contract sum in line with the existing Tax Laws, not on the basis of reducing balance amongst others.