Financial Responsibilities of Government Officers

Accountant General

101- The Accountant General of Abia State is the Head of the Accounting Services and the Treasury: He also:

i) Serves as the Chief Accounting Officer of the receipts and payments of the State Government.

ii). Supervises the Accounts of State Government Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments;

iii) Collates, presents and publishes statutory financial statements of the State Government and any other statements of Accounts required by the Commissioner of Finance;

iv) Manage State Government Investments

(v) Maintains and operates the Accounts of the consolidated Revenue fund, Development Fund, Contingencies fund and other Public Funds and provides cash backing for the operations of the State Government:

vi) Maintains and operates the State Account;

vii) Establishes and Supervises the Treasury Pay Office, all Sub Treasuries in the State, Lagos and Abuja.

viii) Conducts routine and in-depth inspection of the books of accounts of State Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments to ensure compliance with rules, regulations, policies, decisions and maintenance of Accounting Codes and Internal Audit Guides;

(ix) Investigates cases of fraud, loss of funds, assets and store items and other financial malpractices in Ministries/Extra-Ministerial Departments;

x) Provides Financial Regulations and issues Treasury Circulars to Ministries/Extra-Ministerial Departments to ensure that there are adequate systems in the public offices for the control of the collection and disbursement of public funds and for the co-ordination of the Accounting systems;

xi) Ensures Revenue Monitoring and Accounting;

xii) Issues Officially approved forms bearing Treasury numbers for use in all State Ministries to ensure uniformity

xiii) Formulate the Accounting Policy of the State Government;

xiv) Responsible for Loans Servicing and Public Debt Management;

XV) Organizes training of accounts and audit personnel in all Ministries and Extra-Ministerial Departments.

Auditor-General for the State

102-The Officer responsible under the Constitution of the Federation for the audit and report on the public accounts of the State including all persons and bodies established by law entrusted with the collection, receipt, custody, issue, or payment of State Public moneys or with the receipt, custody, issue, sale, transfer or delivery of any stamps, securities, stores or other property of the Abia State Government and for the certification of the Annual Accounts of that Government is the Auditor-General Abia State hereinafter referred to as the Auditor-General. The Auditor-General shall examine and ascertain in such manner as he may think fit the accounts relating to public funds and property and shall ascertain whether in his opinion;

a) the accounts have been properly kept;

b) all public monies have been fully accounted for and the rules and procedures applied are sufficient to secure an effective check on the assessment, collection and proper allocation of revenue;

c) monies have been expended for the purposes for which they were appropriated and the expenditures have been made as authorized; and

d) essential records are maintained and the rules and procedures applied are sufficient to safeguard and control public property and funds.

103 - By virtue of the responsibilities and functions of the Accountant-General of Abia State and the Auditor-General for Abia State the two officers or their representatives shall have free access, at all reasonable times, to all files, safes, documents, books and other records relating to the accounts of all Abia Ministries/Extra-Ministerial Departments or units. They shall also be entitled to require and receive from members of the public services, information, reports and explanations as they may deem necessary for the proper performance of their functions.

Accounting Officer

104 - (i) The term Accounting Officers means the Officer of a Ministry or Department who upon receiving an appointment or acting appointment as a Permanent Secretary or Head of an Extra-Ministerial Department is consequently designated and appointed Accounting Officer for his Ministry or Extra-Ministerial Department. Hereinafter any reference to an Accounting Officer in the Financial Regulations means the Permanent Secretary of a Ministry or the Head of Extra-Ministerial Department. The Accounting Officer is responsible for stewardship that is safeguarding of public funds and the regularity and propriety of the expenditure under his control. (ii) The functions of the Accounting Officer shall include:

a) ensuring that proper budgetary and accounting systems are established in his Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Departments to enhance internal control, accountability and transparency:

b) ensuring that the essential management control tools are put in place to minimize waste and fraud;

c) ensuring that all Government revenues are collected and paid into that the consolidated Revenue Fund promptly.

d) rendering monthly and other periodical accounting returns and transcripts to the Accountant-General of Abia State as required by the Financial Regulations;

e) ensuring the safety and proper maintenance of all Government assets under his care;

f) responsibility for answering all audit queries pertaining to his Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or Agency including appearance before the Public Accounts Committee;

g) ensuring accurate collections and accounting for all public moneys received and expended;

h) ensuring prudence in the expenditure of public funds.

i) The Accounting Officer shall be held personally and pecuniarily responsible for all wrong-doings in his Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department. Delegation of his duties or functions shall not absolve him from these responsibilities and liabilities.

Sub- Accounting Officer

105- (i) The term sub-Accounting Officer means an officer who is entrusted with the receipt, custody and disbursement of public money and who is required to keep one of the recognized cash books together with such other books of accounts as may be prescribed by the Accountant-General (see Regulation 201), the transactions in which are subsequently embodied in the final accounts rendered by the Accountant-General.

(ii) The term sub-Accounting officer should include all Sub Treasurers, the Pay officer Umuahia.

Revenue Collector

106 -A "Revenue Collector" means an Officer, other than a Sub-Accounting Officer, who is entrusted with an Official receipt license or ticket booklet for the regular collection of some particular form of revenue and who is required to keep a cash book (see specimen Revenue Collector's Cash Book rulings in Appendix 4A)

Imprest holder

107-The term "Imprest-holder" means an Officer other than a Sub-Accounting Officer who is entrusted with the disbursement of public money, for which vouchers cannot be presented immediately to a Sub-Accounting Officer and who is required to keep a cash Book. (see specimen Imprest-holder's Cash-Book rulings in Appendix 2).

Officer Controlling Expenditure

108- An Officer controlling expenditure is the Officer to whom the control of a sub-head, or specified amount of a sub-head, has been delegated by the appropriate Accounting Officer.

Self- Accounting Unit

109-Where a Ministry or Department has been Constituted a Self-Accounting Unit, the Accounting Officer as defined in Regulation 104 is charged, in relation to that unit, with the installation and maintenance of a proper system of accounts subject to the general supervisor of the Accountant-General.

General Duties of officers

110 - Any Accounting Officer, Officer Controlling Expenditure, State General Pay Officer, Pensions Officer. Sub-Accounting Officer, Imprest holder, Revenue Collector or any other officer having monetary or financial responsibilities directly connected with, or arising from his official duties, must in so far as the following requirements may be applicable to his particular duties.

a) see that the proper system of account as prescribed by or under the authority of the Accountant-General is established and maintained;

b) exercise supervision over the receipt of public revenue and ensure its prompt collection;

c) Promptly bring to account. under the proper Heads and Sub-Heads of the Estimates or other approved classifications, all money, whether revenue or other receipts, accounted to him;

d) see that proper provision is made for safe keeping of public monies, securities stamps, receipts, tickets, licenses and valuable documents;

e) exercise supervision over all officers under his authority entrusted with the receipt and expenditure of public money, and take precaution, by the maintenance of efficient checks, against the occurrence of fraud, embezzlement or carelessness;

f) supervise the expenditure of the Government; take care that no payment is made which is not covered by proper authority, expressed or referred to on the voucher relating to it; and, in the case of any apparent extravagance or of any apparent defect in the provision for a charge owing to the exhausting or absence of a vote. call attention of the appropriate officer to the matter in writing;

g) promptly charge in his accounts under the proper heads and sub-heads all disbursements whether expenditure or other payments;

h) check all cash and stamps in his charge and verify the amounts with the balance shown in the cash book or stamp register;

i) promptly bring to account as a receipt any cash book or stamp register;

j) promptly make good any minor deficiency not caused by theft or fraud in the cash or stamps for which he is responsible and report in writing details of any such deficiency to the appropriate officer. This provision is without prejudice to chapter 15 of the Financial Regulations;

k) promptly prepare such Financial statements as are required by Law or by the Accountant-General of Abia State.

l) see that all books are correctly posted and kept up-to-date;

m) see that the authorized maximum cash balance that may be held at one time is not exceeded;

n) report apparent defect in the procedure of revenue collection which comes to his notice in the course of his accounting duties;

o) produce when required by the Accountant-General or his representative, all cash, stamps, securities and Accounts books, records or vouchers in his charge;

p) within twenty-one days reply to formal queries or any other enquiries addressed to him by the Accountant-General of Abia State giving fully the particulars or information required. Disciplinary action will be taken against defaulting officers in accordance with the provisions of the codification of offences and sanctions in section 116. In this connection it is essential that an officer of sufficient seniority is assigned the duty of ensuring that all formal queries received are replied to in accordance with these regulations.

Pecuniary responsibilities of officers

111 - All such officers are personally and pecuniarily responsible for the due performance of the financial duties of their Ministries/Extra-Ministerial Departments, for the proper collection and custody of all public money receivable by them, and for any inaccuracies in the accounts rendered by them or under their authority. The responsibility of the Auditor-General for checking and reporting any shortcomings, in connection with public accounts or finance does not absolve any officer mentioned in Regulation 110 from his responsibility for complying or securing compliance with regulations within the scope of his own authority.

Duties entrusted to sub-ordinates

112 - No officer will be relieved of any portion of his responsibility should he entrust to his subordinates the performance of duties which he should have performed himself. An officer who, acting in accordance with Financial Regulation or other express authority, delegates functions which were assigned in the first place to him is not thereby relieved of responsibility. However, the onus is on him to prove that he has done everything possible to carry out the function assigned to him in the best possible way.

Surprise inspection of accounts.

113- The Accountant-General will from time to time cause surprise inspections to be made of the accounts of any of the officers referred to in Regulation 109. Accounting Officers will likewise cause surprise check to be made on the accounts of their subordinates and report to the Accountant-General any material irregularity connected with Accounts which may have been brought to his notice.

Advice on Accounting matters

114 - Accounting Officers should refer to the office of the Accountant-General of Abia State on any matter effecting the accounts of their Ministries or Extra-Ministerial Departments which is matters not provided for in these Regulations. Any departure from these Regulations will only be permitted with the concurrence of the Accountant-General