PAC asks National Treasury to offer refresher courses to its accounting officers

Source: Capital FM Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 8 - The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly has advised the National Treasury to implement regular sensitization and capacity-building initiatives for all accounting officers, finance staff, and procurement officers throughout the government.

These programs would focus on their roles during the audit cycle and ensure adherence to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).

Moreover, the committee has also urged the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) and other professional bodies to enforce adherence to standards and impose sanctions on officers who fail to fulfill their duties willfully.

These recommendations are contained in the committee's report on the financial statements of National Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies for the Financial Year 2020/2021, which was adopted by the House on Thursday.

During the presentation of the report, Nominated MP John Mbadi, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, highlighted findings indicating subpar accounting practices and a lack of capacity within certain accounting units across various ministries, state departments, and agencies.

"The Committee found that despite all accounting units being staffed by qualified accountants and procurement officers, non-compliance with the various provisions of the various laws pointed to incompetence or resistance," Hon. Mbadi told the House.

"You find the laws are there, you have competent staffs based on their academic qualifications, professional background and even experience in terms of the number of years, but still the violation of laws is common. The various breaches included inaccuracies in the financial statements," he added.

Hon. Mbadi wondered why a state department could have inaccuracy in the financial statement and yet, they have qualified accountants preparing account books.

He emphasized the fundamental nature of reconciling accounts, stating, "Failure to reconcile accounts, which is very basic if you are an accountant... You would understand that reconciliation of accounts is one of the basic, actually the first unit in accounting class."

Expressing disappointment, he noted the recurrence of unresolved audit and accounting issues despite previous calls for action or intervention by the House.

He lamented, "By the time we get to the next cycle, the same is repeated again and again, without any action."

Furthermore, he highlighted the challenges cited by accounting officers regarding the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), stating, "Accounting officers have also cited challenges with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS). We have been using the IFMIS for quite some time now and, therefore, issues of capacity to manage or use it should not arise at this stage."

The Committee report has recommended specific follow up actions including further investigations by the investigative authorities, mostly by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) as a number of issues raised in the report economic crimes.

"It is my hope that these recommendations, which are contrary to what we have seen previously, will be implemented within the shortest time possible by all those who are concerned, while taking into consideration public interest above everything else," he held.