By Cynthia Ezekwe
The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) in collaboration with Entop Consulting, a financial and management consultant firm, has organised a 2-day nationwide capacity building programme for public sector entities on preparation of Accrual IPSAS-compliant financial statements by ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) on geopolitical zone basis.
The International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) are a set of accounting standards issued by the IPSAS board for use by public sector entities around the world in the preparation of financial statements. These standards are based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
The training, held on April 11-12 2023, is in line with the letter of the accountant general of the federation to the MDA’s with reference number OAGF/CAD/POL/C.O/424/1, which requires all MDAs to nominate at least four relevant officers from audit, finance and accounts department to participate in the workshop.
The opening statement by Sylva Okolieaboh, accountant general of the federation, and chairman Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC),sub-committee on IPSAS implementation, disclosed that the 2-day capacity building workshop aims at equipping participants with the practical knowledge and skills for the preparation and presentation of IPSAS Accrual Basis of Accounting GPFS of their respective MDAs .
According to Okolieaboh, IPSAS 34 on separate financial statements by MDAs requires ‘controlled entities’ to prepare and present separate financial statements to enable consolidation at the office of the accountant general of the federation. This, he explained, means that the traditional approach of merely submitting trial balances at the end of the month is no longer tenable.
He added that the federal treasury circular, Reference No OAGF/CAD/U26V.IV/701-TRY/A2&B2/2022 on preparation and submission of annual financial statements by MDAs further reinforced the need for the capacity building programme.
“Pursuant of the above, the office of the accountant general in collaboration with Entop Consulting-a firm distinguished for excellence in public finance, put together this workshop designed to bridge all skills and competency gaps among finance operators and desk officers across the MDAs in the six geo-political zones and FCT,” Okolieaboh said.
The accountant general also assured that the consultants who were carefully selected will build the capacity of efforts across the MDAs, adding that the seasoned facilitators will employ suitable teaching methodologies including practical case studies and live scenarios for the workshop.
