BY PAUL TENTENA
The President of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda CPA Constant Othieno Mayende has called for an enhanced budget allocation to improve the infrastructure that drives public finance management.
Mayende who was speaking in Entebbe during the First Evert Public Finance Management Conference mentioned the key infrastructure that drive public finance management as education, health and ICT.
“The government should continue to support public servants to build capacity through trainings not only in finance and accounting areas, but also in ICT so that public servants are able to apply the new technologies,” said Mayende.
“It is a good thing that we are witnessing the increasing effectiveness of Parliaments oversight role, and at this conference, we look forward to hearing from the Members of Parliament regarding how this function can be better supported,” he added.
Mayende said financial reporting plays a major role in public finance management.
“In 2006, ICPAU adopted the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). Whereas observations through the Financial Reporting Awards reveal low level of IPSAS adoption, we continue to encourage adoption through recognizing public sector organizations which comply with the standards,” said Mayende.
To support the governments efforts in implementing the PFM road-map and IPSAS accrual roll-out, Mayende, who is about to retire as ICPAU President said they established a public sector accountancy working group comprising of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda, the Accountant Generals Office, the Office of the Auditor General, the Internal Auditor General and the Local Government Finance Commission.
He said, as accountants, they pledge their support towards the Government of Uganda’s effective establishment of the Public Finance Management reforms.
Henry Musasizi, Uganda’s State Minister for Finance in Charge of General Duties said automation of Financial Systems improves financial management in the public sector.
“Public sector financial reforms discussions and implementation are key as strong systems promote accountability and transparency,” said Musasizi.
He said the government currently employs over 1300 accountants across all its parastatals, ministries and local governments.
Derrick Nkajja, the ICPAU Chief Executive Officer and the Council Secretary said the Public Finance Management conference seeks to raise possible solutions to the challenges of public debt management and fiscal sustainability among other PFM issues.
“In 2021, ICPAU conducted a survey to assess the validity of the improvements resulting from the Government of Uganda PFM reforms and ascertain the International Public Sector Accounting Standards implementation challenges in Uganda.
“Although over two-thirds of the respondents believed that the PFM reform programme had a significant impact and were successful in generating improvements in the key aspects of public finance management, political interference, financial constraints, inadequate information and communications technology infrastructure and non-aligned policies were revealed as persistent hindrances for effective PFM reforms in Uganda,” said Nkajja.
