Fed Govt sets Date to Stop 2023 Spendings
By Patience Ikpeme
The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) has issued guidelines for the year-end accounting procedures for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). These procedures are aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
Both Recurrent and Capital expenditure for MDAs shall be closed on 31st December 2023, in line with the fiscal calendar. To ensure accurate financial reporting, Treasury Inspectorate Officers will extract balances, rule off, and close all Cash Books at the set date.
Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein in a Federal Treasury Circular stated that, “all MDAs operating through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) and the Treasury Single Account (TSA) will have their ledger periods and access to funds closed online automatically at 12 midnight on 31st December 2023”.
Also, MDAs with TSA-Sub Accounts on the Central Bank of Nigeria/Remita Gateway, which include normal budgetary funds with a recurrent component, will also have their ledger periods and online fund access closed at the same time. This measure is aimed at preventing any transfer of funds to hidden or surrogate accounts in order to evade returning unspent balances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF)/TSA.
Dr. Madein warned that any MDAs or officers found involved in such activities will be appropriately sanctioned.
To facilitate the accounting process for MDAs, the OAGF has directed that all transactions for 2023 must be uploaded into GIFMIS from Sub-TSA Accounts by Tuesday, 13th February 2024. Access to the 2024 accounting period will only be granted once the Treasury confirms that the Sub-TSA Accounts have been successfully posted into GIFMIS.
In addition, MDAs are required to strictly adhere to the framework provided by the OAGF’s Consolidated Accounts Department for their upload, which can be obtained from the GIFMIS journal entry functionality sub-module.
To comply with international public sector accounting standards (IPSAS) and financial regulations, all MDAs must submit their Audited Trial Balance and Audited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2023 to the OAGF by 28th February 2024. These documents must be duly audited by the external/resident auditors of the MDAs.
Any MDA that fails to prepare and submit the required Audited Annual Trial Balance and Annual Financial Statements will have its fund(s) allocation suspended indefinitely, in accordance with Presidential Directives and provisions of FR.3123. Additionally, the Director or Head of Finance and Accounts of the MDA will be issued a query.
These accounting procedures are integral to maintaining a high level of financial accountability and ensuring effective fiscal management in line with national priorities. The Federal Government urges all MDAs to adhere to these guidelines to facilitate a smooth transition into the new financial year.
