The Federal Government, in partnership with Ondo State government, has trained managers of public finance across the state on International Public Sector Accounting System (IPSAS).
This is contained in a statement issued by the Media Manager of the state Ministry of Finance, Mr Banjo Egunjobi, in Akure on Thursday.
Egunjobi quoted the state Commissioner for Finance, Mr Wale Akinterinwa, as stating while declaring open the three-day training, that implementation of IPSAS would greatly improve the quality of government financial reporting, transparency and accountability.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop had, as its theme: “Continuous Capacity Building on IPSAS.”
Akinterinwa noted that the IPSAS had provided a reliable decision making platform in governance and management of scarce resources.
According to him, the adoption and implementation of Accrual Basis of IPSAS has added value and made government more accountable to the citizens.
He also said that the training was apt for the joint ‘open government partnership’ which demanded high-level responsibility, accountability and fiscal transparency, driven by implementation of IPSAS accrual basis.
The commissioner expressed gratitude Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for creating a conducive environment for capacity development for accounting managers to standardise the state’s finance and accounting process, to meet the best global practices.
He encouraged all the participants to pay rapt attention to the lectures and participate fully in order to maximise the resources deployed to acquire modern day accounting system, in line with global best practices.
The statement also quoted the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Sylva Okolieaboh, as stating in his remarks that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had, on July 28, 2010, taken a decision on adoption and implementation of IPSAS by public sector entities.
NAN reports that Okolieaboh was represented by the Deputy Program Manager, System Development, Accountant-General’s Office in Abuja, Mr Olasunkanmi Adeoti.
He explained that since the implementation of IPSAS in the country, all stakeholders at all levels of government had constantly been encouraged and provided with necessary support in form of capacity building for seamless operations.
In her remarks, the state Accountant-General, Mrs Toyin Oni, expressed optimism that the workshop would provide an overview of important requirements for preparation of financial statements as well as advance the knowledge of the participants.
Oni also noted that the program would go a long way in enhancing the efficiency of the participants in the preparation of financial statements in their various offices, in line with global best practices.
She encouraged the participants to fully participate in the training in order to justify the accountant-general of the federation’s gesture of extending the workshop to the state.
NAN reports that goodwill messages were also delivered by the state Auditor-General, Mr Sunday Adegoke, the Local Government Auditor-General, Mr Francis Aderomola and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mr Jide Ekpobomini, among others.
