The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) will intensify its education on salary processing this year to aid workers with concerns on salaries to seek assistance from the appropriate quarters.
In addition, the department will make its offices more accessible to its clients and create awareness to cure misconceptions by the general public.
The Controller and Accountant-General, Kwasi Kwaning-Bosompem, who made this known at a thanksgiving service, and nine lessons and carols at the CAGD office in Accra, said his outfit also sought to ensure a deeper relationship between management and staff to improve institutional dialogue.
Going into 2023, we shall enhance service delivery to the benefit of all stakeholders. We aim to make the department more accessible to our clients and we shall not relent in educating and creating awareness to cure misconceptions about the department by the general public,” he stated.
Institutionalised
The event, which has been institutionalised by the CAGD is held every year by the department to afford the staff the opportunity to reflect and to show gratitude to God.
It also affords the staff of the department to soberly reflect on their activities for the year and seek God’s guidance in the coming year.
Gratitude
Kwaning-Bosompem said showing a little gratitude was one of the simplest, but most effective ways to boost morale and promote a healthy and positive workplace culture.
To that end, he said the event invariably reflected the department’s sense of inter-connectedness, unity of purpose and love as one big family.
He, therefore, rallied the entire workforce to be selfless in the discharge of their individual and collective duties by putting the clients first, acting with integrity and embracing the various reforms being championed by the department.
We have jealously safeguarded our core values of putting customers first, serving the whole country, acting with integrity, valuing people and embarking on continuous improvement and innovation.
“One of the ways the CAGD can positively influence the perceptions and opinions of our stakeholders is through a corporate identity hinged on a positive work culture,” he said.
He said the CAGD was keen on sensitisation this year to cure the continuous misconceptions about the institution and its work over the years.
Excellence
Kwaning-Bosompem indicated that the CAGD would continue to strive towards excellent service delivery, consistent with its mission of providing public financial management services to the government and the general public through efficient, skilled, well-motivated and dedicated staff, using the most appropriate technology.
We also continue to promote the development of efficient accounting systems in all government departments. We shall not condone the practice of government transactions done outside of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS). It is illegal to do so,” he said.
He added, “We have developed an operational manual to aid covered entities in the management of bank accounts”.
Legal framework
Quoting Section 51 of the Public and Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) to explain further, Mr Kwaning-Bosompem said it provided the legal framework for the management of bank accounts by covered entities.
He said the manual became more relevant in the face of the expanded scope of public financial management reporting which covered all sources of public funds, the adoption of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy and the implementation of other reforms such as GIFMIS and Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT) systems.
The overall objective of the manual, he explained, was to improve service delivery for covered entities, protect public funds and to facilitate the preparation of accurate financial reports at both entity and national levels.
The Controller and Accountant-General extended gratitude to the various divisions of the department such as the treasury, payroll, audit and investigation, the administration and the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) divisions which, he said, had professionally distinguished themselves in diverse ways in the discharge of their duties.