The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Ahmed Idris has reiterated commitment towards the implementation of various public finance management reform initiatives which commenced since 2015.
These include Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System (GIFMIS), Treasury Single Account (TSA), Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
Mr Idris gave the assurance in Abuja during his Inauguration and Investiture as the 1st President (Post Chartered) and Chairman of Council of the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management (CITM), held on Thursday, applauded the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed, as well as other stakeholders for the support, enjoyed to achieving the feats.
He said: “one of my statutory duties as the Accountant-General of the Federation and Head of the Federal Treasury centres on the overall Management of receipts and payments of the Federal Government and maintenance and operations of the Federation Account.
“The above mandate effectively covers the simple definition of Treasury Management as managing an entity’s liquidity and mitigating its operational, financial and reputational risks including the entity’s collections, disbursements, investment and funding activities.
“What we do, day-in-day-out in the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation is practical Treasury Management at its best!”
According to him, “From July 2015 when I was graciously appointed as the Accountant-General of the Federation by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, my team and I were determined to infuse a lot of vibes into the numerous Public Finance Management reform initiatives being undertaken by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation; and even went ahead to introduce or recommend new ones.
“The primary objective of the PFM reforms is to ensure the sustenance of a stable financial position of the Federal Government that would engender efficient delivery of public goods and services in a transparent and accountable manner.
“It is on record that the present administration of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR has demonstrated a very strong will and commitment in its drive for managing scarce resources for the public good.
“May I however state, with all sense of modesty, that we have been very successful with the PFM reforms; even though we are not unaware of some implementation challenges that are not insurmountable. Our desire is to advance the reforms to the next level in order to achieve optimum benefits and effectively sustain the gains of the reforms,” the AGF noted.
While accepting to steer the affairs of the Institute, Mr Idris affirmed that the uncommon diligence and tenacity of the founding fathers have paid off with the passage and assent of the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management (Establishment) Act, 2021, which has been duly gazetted on 4th January 2022 as Government Notice No. 1.
“I wish to state that I humbly accept the honour and express my readiness and commitment to serve as President and Chairman of Council of Chartered Institute of Treasury Management (CITM).”
In his remarks, the CITM Registrar, Mr Olumide Adedoyin reiterated the Institute’s resolve towards institutionalization of preventive mechanisms in the management of the Treasury as measures against fraud, outright embezzlement and misappropriation and to properly manage it by well trained and articulated professionals.
To achieve these, he harped on the importance of the promotion, the study and practice of proper management of the Treasury as a safeguard against outright Embezzlement, Emasculation, Misapplication of scarce resources placed in the custody of fund managers.
“Ours is the effective coordination of the flow of benefits from the services of all finance professional working in any organization for optimum delivery of financial services to every organization in the public and private sector of our nation’s economy.”
To achieve the set objectives, Mr Adedoyin underscored the need to leverage on the experience of those already on the field working in different finance positions in government functionaries and private sector buoyed on initiatives from our in-depth and ongoing research in the areas of our recognized and approved expertise we intend to promote proper accountability, transparency and prudence in the management of cash resources in every sector within the economy of this nation.”