DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ACCOUNT

The Department of Finance and Accounts is headed by a Director from the office of Accountant General for the State. The Department is entrusted with the responsibility of keeping proper accounting records that discloses with reasonable accuracy, the financial position of the Ministry, which comply with the requirements of the provisions of Financial Regulations and all other relevant financial circulars. It is saddled with the responsibility of provision of professional financial advisory services to the management of the Ministry to ensure that all financial activities of the Ministry comply with the provisions of all financial laws operative in the state in the conduct of all its financial businesses.

The Department is charged with the following responsibilities:

• Financial control and management of funds
• Maintaining financial prudence, transparency, and accountability
• Keeping of adequate records and books of accounts
• Preparation and execution of annual budget
• Provision of financial advisory services to all departments and units
• Rendering of returns to the office of the Accountant General for state and other relevant Government Agencies
• Ensure there is proper provision of safes and other security measures are in place to safeguard the loss of government funds and revenue.
• Promptly bring to account, under the proper Heads and Subheads of the Estimates or other approved classifications all money, whether revenue or other receipts accounted to him.
• Ensure proper system of account as prescribed by or under the authority of the Accountant-General is established and maintained.
• Supervise the expenditure of government and ensure there are no extra budgetary spending without proper authority.
• The departments entrusted with the receipt, custody and disbursement of public money within the Ministry.

The Department is structured into three main divisions namely:

1. Accounts Division
2. Finance Division
3. Budget Division

Accounts Division

• Final Accounts
• Preparation and submission of Trial Balances to the office of the Accountant General
• ensures the fixed asset register is maintained

• Reconciliation
• Collects bank statements and prepares the monthly reconciliation statement
• Early detection of errors/fraud

• Audit Query
• Responds to all Audit queries
• Prepares the office to meet with the public Account Committee of the House of Assembly if necessary

• Agencies
• Conducts surveillance of Agencies under the Ministry
• Collate financial reports from the Agencies
• Make necessary corrections and recommendation on areas of lapses observed
• Monitors compliance of financial transactions of Agencies in line with the Financial Regulations and Enabling Act.

• Project Accounts
• Coordinate the activities of the project Accountants under the Ministry
• Carry out timely rendering of appropriate reports on projects

Finance Division

• Public Revenue Unit:
• Liaises effectively with all revenue generating departments and revenue collecting banks for 100 percent revenue capture and reconciliations.
• Ensures revenue monitoring and rendering of returns to the appropriate Authorities e.g. monthly revenue returns to Accountant-General office, Budget department and Auditor-General’s office.
• Ensuring regular checking and reconciliations at the TCOs.
• Reconciles Accountant-General’s revenue transcripts.
• Keeping reliable data base of all revenue payers that interact with the Ministry.

• Checking
• Receives and checks all payment vouchers
• Ensures that vouchers raised complies with lay down rules and regulations
• Ensures the accuracy and completeness of vouchers before it goes to Audit

• Other Charges
• Preparation of recurrent and capital payment vouchers
• Ensures that payments is duly authorized before raising voucher
• Ensure relevant documents are available for each transactions.

• Funds
• Maintain records of allocations received from the the budget office
• Liaise with the budget division to manage the Appropriation for the year

• Loans and Advances
• Keeping proper records of all Staff loans and advances ranging from Housing Loan, Mortgage Loans, Computer loans, motor cycle loan, Car Refurbishing loan etc.
• Monthly loans & Advances returns to Accountant-General’s office.
• Ensuring that loans & deductions are appropriately and timely made or recovered.

• Salaries and Allowances
• Preparation of staff variation.
• Preparation of salary inputs for staff.
• Reconciliation of salaries and allowances and rendering returns on same. to the office of the accountant general.
• Updating of staff NHS and pension records.

• Tax Matters
• Prompt deduction of applicable tax rates from all payments
• Remission of tax returns every 21stday after month of deduction

• Budget Division
• This division is in charge of the of the preparation of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework for both the capital and Recurrent Expenditure of the Ministry.
• The division also coordinates and supervises the annual budget preparation of Agencies under the Ministry’s purview
• It collates the budgets of all departments and forwards same to the Ministry of budget and planning of the state.
• It participates in the monitoring of budget implementation and performances.