The Ministry of Finance and Development Planning through the Department of Comptroller and Accounting General has concluded a validation of the 2010 Chart of Accounts in Kakata, Margibi County.
The Chart of Accounts is a critical public financial framework document adopted in 2010.
The validation in Kakata was intended to review and establish changes the Chart of Accounts will have on policies, processes, procedures, and operations of the Public Financial Management or PFM system (IFMIS, and other relevant PFM systems).
The process also afforded key stakeholders the opportunity to review the works of the technical team; identifying issues that could impede the optimal use of the Chart of Accounts
They also concluded on a final updated version of the Chart of Accounts that will subsequently be printed and disseminated.
The Comptroller and Accounting General of Liberia, Elwood T. Nettey, in closing remarks thanked various participating institutions for the level of efforts and commitment to gather and review the proposed changes to the Chart of Account.
According to Nettey, with the validation of the Chart of Account, the Government of Liberia through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning now has the opportunity to capture all institutions that were not listed or mentioned in the 2010 Chart of Account Manual and their coding system.
He noted that the new coding system will also capture all named institutions for reporting purposes, consistent with the Public Financial Management law.
“Going forward the new chart of accounts will comprehensively be able to code and capture all entities that are receiving government funding,” Comptroller and Accounting General Netty said.
Since 2010, the Government of Liberia (GoL) adopted a harmonized Standard Chart of Accounts (CoA) which underpins planning, budget preparation, accounting, and reporting.
The issued Chart of Accounts conformed to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), Government Finance Statistics (GFS) Manual 2001 and accommodated various types of reporting requirements prescribed under the Public Finance Management Act 2009 (revised 2019).
Since its implementation, the GoL Standard Chart of Accounts has undergone several revisions to address emerging requirements due to changes in the PFM legal and operating environment. Notable changes include: upgrade of IFMIS, the introduction of MTEF Budgeting, updates in the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), and other critical budgeting/financial reporting requirements.
Although the current Chart of Accounts has been able to address most of GoL’s budgeting, accounting, and reporting needs, a review was deemed necessary to accommodate new and emerging requirements while preserving compliance with existing statutory and international accounting and reporting standards.
The five days’ session was attended by technicians and officials from the General Auditing Commission (GAC), Internal Audit Agency (IAA), Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), Department of the Budget, Ministry of Finance & Development Planning; IFMIS Unit- Ministry of Finance & Development Planning; Financial Reporting & Reconciliation Unit-CAGD, Ministry of Finance & Development Planning; and Department of Fiscal Affairs – Ministry of Finance & Development Planning.
