One of the major problems in government accounting is that the
Decree 20/PM (and the regulations issued pursuant to the decree) on
accounting regulating all Government entitiesí accounting is lacking
detailed instructions on procedures and forms. This has resulted in
somewhat anarchy in financial reporting to MOF where each entity
has invented its own procedures and forms making it difficult at
central level to consolidate accounts. The ADB supported TA has
now developed a manual and procedures that have been approved by
Government and are being implemented in four ministries (Health,
Education, Agriculture and MOF) and one province. According to
the ADB, there are probably not sufficient ADB funds for introducing
the new accounting system in all entities that report to Ministry of
Finance and therefore there is a need for both commitment to adhere
to the new system as well as grant funding for implementation of the
system countrywide.
During the interviews it has become clear that one of the major
problems in accounting is the level of training (quality) of accounting
staff in the Government system. In connection with project implementation,
this fact very easily leads to that donor representatives in project
implementation units take over the accounting without properly training
those national accountants who should take over once donors withdraw
from projects, leading to unsustainability.