The Controller and Accountant General's Department, (CAGD) has held a workshop for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), on the operations of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), on the theme: Accelerating public financial reforms for efficiency and transparency- the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System.

Madam Grace Francisca Adzroe, Acting Controller and Accountant General, said the workshop was to help expose the participants to the new system, and also provide platform to discuss issues that would help the implementation agencies to improve further the system for the benefit of the nation.

She said successive governments had over the years embarked on several public financial management reforms to address challenges in managing public funds, but very little was achieved as there was lack of coordination and integration.

Government, therefore, decided to develop an all embracing financial management programme, which would integrate all components of public financial management in the country, and that led to the introduction of Public Financial Management Reform Programme also known as PUFMARP, she said.

Madam Adzroe explained that the PUFMARP has many components which include the Budget and Public Expenditure which was re-launched in 2009 as GIFMIS and jointly implemented by the CAGD, Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Services Commission.

She said, when fully implemented, GIFMIS would serve as government’s official system to be used for budget preparation, receipts and disbursement of funds, accounting, reporting and auditing of public funds at the national and sub-national level.

It will also help facilitate the flow of information among the implementing agencies to provide complete and accurate financial information on budget execution at every time, she added.

She commended CSOs for their role in shaping public policy and governance and their immense contributions towards the development of efficient public financial management systems in the public service.

Nana Agyemang Dwamena, Head of the Civil Service, who was chairman for the occasion, urged all stakeholders to embrace GIFMIS as it would help ensure financial discipline in government expenditure.

He also advised CSOs to help educate the public on the operations of GIFMIS. The participating CSOs were taken through topics such the Over view on GIFMIS, Programme Based Budgeting and the Human Resource Information Management System Project.