managing public sector records: a study programme - International ...

The Regulations further state that:
‘The documents and records pertaining to the collection of revenue, the
control of expenditure, the administration of trust funds, the
management of public stores and such other financial business as may
be made the responsibility of government departments shall be termed
other government accounts and shall be kept by head of departments. 7
On the strength of these provisions, agency heads are requested to develop sound
management systems for financial record keeping to meet the requirements of
• accountability in public financial management
• efficient discharge of financial transactions.
Financial Business Processes
Record keeping systems in public financial management contain information linked to
the transactions they document and maintain as evidence over time. The record
keeping systems do not only contain documentation of transactions, they maintain
evidence overtime.
There are nine defined business process groupings and information areas applicable to
the management of public finance.
• MACRO FISCAL PLANNING: Expenditure and resource planning form the
initial step in the annual cycle of the public expenditure process. This process
relates to the development of fiscal policy and medium term expenditure plans.
The documentation generated includes information on the medium term plan,
macro-economic targets, public sector investment programmes and the fiscal
plans. Others are proposals for the development of multi-year rolling plans,
forecasts of funding requirements, surveys on GDP, inflation and expenditure
reviews.
• BUDGETING: The second grouping covers budget preparation, monitoring and
control. Information in this functional process relates to the preparation,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation phases of the budget. Records
generated include budget guidelines, sources of financing the programmes and
projects, transfers (virements), supplementary allocation records and warrants;
documentation summarising commitments and expenditures against budgeted
figures, overall cash flow forecasts based on programme and project expenditure
plans and schedules and review of the aggregate positions as obtained in the fiscal
reports and budget prepared during the course of the fiscal year. Others are the
documentation on the liquidity position based on cash balances in various
government accounts, records documenting government bonds, treasury bills and
cash deposit maturities, cash flow forecasts, fiscal and debt reports.
7 ibid., Regulation 101
CASE STUDIES 15: AKOTIA
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