The Lagos State Government has trained 800 Chartered Accountants in the public service on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) to enhance their capacity, bring them up to date on best practices in accounting, promote the culture of fair reporting and increase efficiency in public service delivery.
In his keynote address to participants at the Airport Hotel Ikeja, the Honourable Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu regarded employees as the biggest assets to facilitate the achievement of the T.H.E.M.E.S strategic development agenda.
Dr. Olowo stated that due to the successful transition from cash-based reporting to a more advanced accrual basis of IPSAS since 2016 financial year, the State recognised the need to train and retrain staff to remain conversant with the numerous advantages embedded in the IPSAS application and also align with the increasing global demand for transparency as well as adherence to the value of fair reporting.
“The current training is an unprecedented one in the country; we are training 800 account officers across the State and also preparing them to write and pass the ACCA Certificate in IPSAS examination. IPSAS has come to replace the cash-based reporting in the public sector due to its inherent transparency, openness, effectiveness and efficiency”, he averred.
The Commissioner maintained that the adoption of IPSAS is a fundamental step taken by the government, not only to increase transparency and accountability to citizens and stakeholders, but also to engender effective decision making by contributing to financial stability and sustainability for greater dividends of governance.
“My office has no greater priority now than to build the capacities of the State’s public service accountants in line with the current administration’s commitment of ensuring that the best global standards of accounting techniques are adopted in public sector accounting in the State”, he stated.
While justifying Governor Sanwo-Olu’s investment in the training of accountants, Dr. Olowo said such exercise would promote the integrity of the State’s financial status and also bring the State at par with what obtained in modern economies across the globe.
He assured participants that the programme will be sustained, saying “the State is committed and will continue to play a leading role that other States could emulate. It is for the betterment of the profession to strive for higher ethics, and it will bring increased benefits to the Nation’s economy”.
The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Ganiat Abidemi Raji, also enjoined participants to listen well to the resource persons and participate actively in the training to gain the necessary knowledge and skills.
She implored the trainees to transmit knowledge and skill gained to other accountants in the State’s Public Service in order to proliferate the IPSAS values and best accounting practices in Lagos.
The training programme afforded accountants and finance professionals in Lagos State the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the evolving standards of IPSAS in order to improve accounting processes and reporting in the State.
