The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, has said that ongoing reforms in the global space, more particularly in Nigeria, are being implemented by governments to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public governance.
Idris made this remark on Wednesday when the Director General of Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR) Mr. Dasuki Arabi and his management paid a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.
The AGF, who congratulated the DG of the BPSR on his appointment and for initiating various reforms in the Public Service since assumption of office, said that his office and the BPSR had a common goal of making Nigeria change for better.
Specifically, Idris explained that the reform initiatives were being implemented to change the old ways of doing things in the public sector to better ways.
The accounting expert listed some of the reforms being implemented by his office as including, the Treasury Single Account (TSA), International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS), Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS), Audit modernization and Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS), amongst others.
The AGF explained that the audit modernization was aimed at making audit more scientific by moving from analogue to a more digitized way of auditing, adding that the next level of audit checking is ready and that the department has well trained staff, web based Audit laboratory filled with computers.
He expressed his appreciation to the Director-General of BPSR in grading the OAGF 90% in ranking for its reform initiatives and the zeal to do more, promising to explore other areas that would benefit both agencies.
Idris said further that being a coordinating agency, the BPSR would face challenges in the course of the reforms but expressed the readiness of his office to cooperate and partner with the bureau in capacity building and training.
In his remarks, the BPSR Director-General urged the OAGF to deploy an experienced Director of Finance and Accounts to his office to help in transforming its accounting system.
Arabi said that due to the need for a one-stop shop, where reform information can be obtained, BPSR was set up in 2004 to serve as the centre for coordination of reforms among the MDAs, adding that there are some reforms being carried out in different MDAs before BPSR came on board.
He disclosed that the bureau had set up a Steering Committee on Reform, headed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and assisted by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and other members, including the Accountant-General of the Federation.
The Director-General said that the main role of the Steering Committee was to guide BPSR to do better.
According to him, the reports of the activities are given to the Steering Committee for validation, approval, and corrections hence, members are expected to send memos and progress reports on the various reforms initiatives in their MDAs.
