FCTA holds workshop for Council staff on IPSAS

By Usman Shuaibu

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), office of the Auditor-General, FCT area councils in partnership with New Planet Projects has organized a 5-day training workshop for some of the staff in the six area councils on the International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS).
In an interview at the workshop in Gwagwalada, the Auditor-General of the FCT area councils, Hajiya Kudirat Abdulhamid, said the workshop was organized base on the mandate of the office.
Her words: “IPSAS is a standard for the preparation of the book of account which had been adopted across the board and the Federal Government had signed up to it. It had been implemented in faces and at the states level, we are already have this. At the area councils’ level or local governments which are third tiers of the government, it is scantily implemented.
“For uniformity, transparency, prudence and accountability, there is a need to have this uniform accounting system. So, in the honour is actually on the management to ensure that this is put in place. As an Auditor, we are to ensure that what they ought to do is what they have done, and the books are properly kept.
“But in order to facilitate this, we decided to organize the training so that every area council has their staff equipped to the scheme, the knowledge and capacities are built in order to build their confident and ensure that they do the right thing at all the area councils so that our books will be easy audit”.
She urged the area council chairmen to provide the necessary equipment as well the tools for their staff in order to enhance productivity.
She, therefore, advised the participants to use the knowledge they had acquired during the workshop to better their respective area councils, as they are agents of change.
Some of the beneficiaries interviewed at the training workshop thanked the FCT Administration for organizing the workshop to update their knowledge.