SELF-ACCOUNTING MINISTRIES/ EXTRA-MINISTERIAL DEPARTMENTS OR UNITS

Definition of

1201 - A Self-Accounting Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or unit in one in which the responsibility for the maintainance of the detailed record of expenditure and revenue and the below-the-line payments and receipts of the Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Departments or Units is delegated to the Accounting Officer and where the Accounting Officer is required to account to the Accountant-General in total Head (or Sub-Head where applicable) form at monthly intervals,and also to account to him at the close of each financial year in the manner prescribed by the Accountant-General.

Approval for.

1202 -The approval of the Accountant-General is required before a Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or Unit may become Self-Accounting, and normally this permission will be given only when a fully constituted Internal Audit Unit is operating within the Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or Unit concerned (see Financial Regulations Chapter 20).

Control of Accounting Records

1203 - The Accounting Officer and the Accountant-General in consultation will ensure that the accounts of the Ministry/Extra Ministerial Department or Unit are placed under the direct control of a suitably competent Accountant.

Accounting Records

1204 - It shall be the responsibility of the Director of Finance of a Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department to maintain inter alia, the following records:-

a) Abstract of Expenditure and Revenue (Financial Regulations 934 and 935).

b) General Ledger and Subsidiary Ledger.

c) Journal

d) Other supporting accounts and registers as required by Financial Regulations and additional records which may be required to meet the specific requirements of the Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or Unit.

Director of Finance

1205 - The Director of Finance shall ensure, inter alia, that:-

a) Sub-Accounting Officers under his control submit their monthly accounts within the prescribed time limit (Financial Regulation 208).

b) The Sub-Accounting Officers' accounts are submitted to him in accordance with the general provisions of Chapter 2.

c) All charges to a vote or account for which the Accounting Officer is responsible are authorized and are fully supported by original documents and payees' receipts.

d) An Abstract record is maintained to record the monthly and the cumulative yearly total of each Sub-Head of Expenditure and revenue, and reflects any excess of expenditure over the authorized limit.

e) A consolidated monthly account is forwarded to the Accountant-General within the prescribed time limit to show inter alia:

i) The Head total for the month of the recurrent expenditure of the Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or Unit.

ii) The Sub-Head totals for the month of capital expenditure.

iii) The Sub-Head totals for the month of revenue.

iv) The account totals for the month of receipts and payments to the below-the-line accounts of the Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or Unit.

v) The opening and closing cash/bank balances.

f) Monthly accounts are produced to the Accounting Officer to show the cumulative yearly total of expenditure and revenue of each Sub-Head under the control of the Accounting Officer. The Annual Appropriation Act as may be modified by release warrant, limits the expenditure for each Department which cannot and must not be exceeded or varied except by the enabling authority of the State House of Assembly and as may be reflected in a Special Recurrent/Development Expenditure Warrant. In consonance with the rule no Accounting Officer therefore shall have any discretionary power, to vary or over-spend his vote by any margin. This is a vital constitutional principle and injunction we all are obliged to honour at all times.

g) There is an adequate system of control over the collection of those revenues which are placed under the responsibility of the Accounting Officer.

h) Detailed accounting instructions are issued to officers to embrace the general provisions of Financial Regulations and any specific directions from the Ministry of Finance or the Accountant-General:

Retention of documents

1206- The Director, of Finance shall ensure that the following documents in original are retained under adequate security arrangements:

a) (see Financial Regulations 206 and 934).

b) Vouchers for receipts and payments for which the Accounting Officer is responsible.

Other Accounting records required by Financial Regulations

Transaction on behalf of others.

1207- a) The original documents supporting transactions undertaken will be forwarded by the Accounting Officer to the Accounting the case may be, as soon as possible after the close of the month under review. The originals of the documents and duplicates thereof will be forwarded under a covering schedule (in duplicate). The schedule will show:

i) Date and amount of each transaction.

ii) Voucher reference.

iii) Classification.

iv) Total of Sub-Head or account, and distribution of schedules with attachments shall be sent direct to the Accountant-General.

The Director,of Finance shall ensure that the schedule total of a sub-head or account, as in (iv) above,is in complete agreement with the relative entries in the consolidated monthly account to be forwarded to the Accountant-General, under the provisions of Financial Regulation 1205(f).

The classification of transactions undertaken on behalf of another Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or Unit (with the exception of transactions under Financial Regulation 1211) will be as follows:

i) Transactions on behalf of Self-Accounting Units shall be charged direct to the appropriate expenditure Head and Sub-Head of the Estimate.

ii) Transactions on behalf of non-self accounting units will be to the appropriate Head and Sub-Head, or below-the-line account, of the vote or account concerned.

Receipt of documents

1208 - The Self-Accounting Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or Unit receiving a schedule of transactions under Financial Regulation 1207 (a) will link the schedule against the relative account total appearing in the account-current receivable from the Accountant-General.

Payments General

1209 - A Self-Accounting Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or Unit will normally make all payments through the Sub-Accounting Officers of the Ministry/Extra Ministerial Department or Unit.

Settlement between Ministries by cheque

1210 - Subject to the general approval of the Accountant-General, certain revenue and cash receipts, including deductions from personal emoluments, e.g. Income Tax P.A.Y.E. will be passed from the collecting office to the receiving authority by direct cheque payments and a payment voucher and a receipt (T.B.6) will be issued in support of the transaction.

Bank accounts not to be drawn

1211-Both the Accounting Officer and the Director of Finance shall now carry the burden of ensuring that expenditure of each Ministry/Department is restricted to the actual amount specified in the Expenditure Warrant, and particularly, to the limit of the credit balance of the Bank Accounts of the Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department. The Heads of Accounts are particularly enjoined to avoid issuing cheques that will cause the bank accounts to be overdrawn. All banks are also enjoined not to allow any overdraft in favour of Ministries and Parastatals.

Accounting Code

1212 - The Accountant-in-charge of the accounts will submit through his Accounting Officer, to the Accountant-General with copies to the Auditor-General for approval, a detailed Accounting Code to embrace the general provisions of Financial Regulations and in addition, the particular requirements of the Ministry/Extra-Ministerial Department or Unit.