Responsibilities of Head of Accounting Organizations
-Dr. Lalit Kumar
In Government Organizations, the hardest
responsibility is ‘ensuring economy, efficiency, and effectiveness – the 3 Es’
in payments and the second hardest responsibility is to improve the tax collection
system to the extent possible. The Chief Controller of Accounts (CCAs) or Controller of Accounts (CAs) is with the independent charge being Head
of Organizations. They are expected for critical analysis of Government
functions based on above stated 3 Es – Economy, Efficiency, and
Effectiveness.
Rules, Regulations, and Instructions:
The Finance Ministry with the help of the Finance Department
frames rules and regulations, also issue instructions as per the need of changing
business environment. To improve transparency with online procurement
of goods and services, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) incorporated by the
Government and now in every state, there is more emphasis upon adoption of GeM.
However, the heads of accounting organizations are responsible to certify
the reasonability of the rates on which products and services are being
procured in their offices.
Emphasis upon Outcome Budgeting:
The time is changing fast, now Government is focusing
upon Outcome instead of Outlay and Output. There are ceilings in the budget for
effective monitoring of the utilization of financial resources and managing the
debt due to excess demand of financial resources in the offices. The budget is
formed based on the Output-Outcome Monitoring Framework (OOMF) as per the
latest guidelines of the Ministry of Finance / Finance Department.
In Finance Department, the Budget branch is entrusted
to furnish accurate budget estimates and monitoring of utilization of funds as
per the amount proposed by the departments.
Financial Reporting:
The heads of accounting organizations are responsible
to prepare the reports based on financial records to enable better
decision-making by the Administrative Officers (IAS / IPS / IFS etc.).
The reports and periodical reviews, analytical
diagrams for managerial decisions, are now part of the financial reporting.
Internal and External Audit
It is well known that the Audit function is completed
by the Chartered Accountants (CAs) in Private and Public Sector Organizations
as per the Companies Act. But at the same time, in Government Organizations,
the primary audit function is directly in the hands of heads of Accounting Organizations
i.e. Accounts Officers, Senior Accounts Officers, Chief Accounts Officers, etc.
a. Enforcing Internal Controls and Checks –
The challenge is to supervise and ensure timely
payments to the right beneficiaries and claimants as per the rules framed by
the Finance Department and latest instructions. The Government also deals with the
Contractors and Vendors for the supply of goods, services, works including manpower
solutions.
b. Preparing Monthly Accounts as per Rules –
It is not so easy as it seems. Accurate figures of
accounts along with compiling the financial records, reconciliation of the
accounting information is a hard responsibility. Most of the time, the RTI
Activists demand such information and put their queries with quoting the
inaccurate information sometimes due to clerical mistakes (if any). The
accounting tasks are time-bound and related to taxation, budgets, and
compliance of Companies Act or Partnership Act for preparing Financial
Statements and the disclosure of the same in the public domain.
After preparing the accurate financial accounts, these
are submitted to the Accounting Organization i.e. CGA in Central Government and
AG (Accounts) in State Governments.
c. Advisory Services for reforming taxation –
The Government Organizations realize revenues most of
the times from taxation and it is the basic focus area to reform by the Government.
The heads of accounting organizations are responsible to advise the Government
for reforming the taxation function and make it more transparent and
error-proof.
The rising debt on Government can easily be reduced
with effective collection of taxes with least cost.
Leveraging Information Technology:
Without Information Technology, every function is
incomplete. The Internet of Things and Artificial Intelligence have changed the
scenario of Accounting. The use of Software, Apps, Web portals, and tools of
Artificial Intelligence not only detects the irregularities but also supports
administrators to think out of the box and make the organizations more profitable.
The technological environment cannot be easily understood by Accounting people
because, in most Government Organizations, the heads of accounting
organizations lack skills in Information Technology such as the Internet of Things
and Artificial Intelligence tools.
The implementation of Financial Rules with the help of Financial Management Systems convince the officers both Accounting and Administrative officers to use the portals for carrying out their financial functions. The preparation of Sanctions, processing of Bills, Making Payments in digital forms, processing of Receipts and Management, incorporating the Direct Benefit Transfer using Payments directly into the Accounts of Payees / Beneficiaries, analyzing the flow of Cash and Funds including inflows and outflows in various types of activities, and finally reporting of financial records with the use of templates, graphs, and diagrams; every function is being transformed with the impact of Information Technology.
Course on Decision Making for Effective Financial Administration by Dr. Lalit Kumar Setia:
This course first time organized from 6th September to 10th September, 2021 particularly to support the Officers/Official ensuring effective financial administration in their offices.
The Haryana State Training Policy, 2020 notified by Honorable Chief Secretary to Government, clearly state to focus upon equipping all functionaries of Government with adequate knowledge and skills, bring about positive attitudinal changes, and build capacities to enhance performance.
The main objective of the above course is to build and enhance the capacities and sharpen the skills for making decisions relating to ensure proper utilization of financial resources, procurement of goods and services using online and offline modes, workout medical reimbursement in Cashless and packages, and deduction of Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) as per Income tax and GST Act as per the directions of Government for effective financial administration.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
• Describe the bases of making Financial Decisions in ensuring proper utilization of Financial Resources, Budgetary Control by using Online Budgeting portal as per guidelines of Government
• Describe the process of making decisions in Procuring Goods and Services, taking sanctions, use of approved source and open market, Tendering and Online Procurement using Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
• Describe the rules, latest instructions, and directions of Government for Effective Financial Administration in Income Tax, Goods and Services Tax, Medical Reimbursement, Recovery of over payments, submission of e-TDS returns in Income Tax and GST etc.
The Government Departments can apply for the desired training on lalits.hipa@nic.in and after confirmation/acceptance of the nominations, the participants are added to Google meet classes. For more information, the contact number of Dr. Lalit Kumar Setia is +91-9416382720.
*Copyright © 2021 Dr. Lalit Kumar. All rights reserved.
This article is written by Dr. Lalit Kumar Setia; a renowned author and trainer. The article was published on 9th August, 2021 and last updated on 4th September, 2021. The writer can be contacted on lalitkumarsetia@gmail.com
https://drlalitsetia.blogspot.com/2020/08/computerized-accounting-systems.html
