Accounting students tour Controller and Accountant General’s Department
Final year accountancy students of the Cape Coast Technical University have paid an industrial visit to the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) in Accra to familiarise themselves with the functions and operations of the department.
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A Deputy Head, Human Resource Management Directorate of the Department, Mr Raphael Ayiglo, welcomed the students and commended them for embarking on such an exploratory tour, saying such visits provided students with the opportunity to obtain first-hand information and insight into what really happened in the field of work as against the theory taught in the classroom.
He said the CAGD was the main accounting machinery of the State with the Controller as Chief Advisor to the Minister of Finance on matters of accountancy.
The department also made disbursements on behalf of the government, including the payment of monthly salaries to government employees and pension payments to persons on retirement, as well as the release of funds to execute government projects and developments throughout the country, he added.
Salaries and releases
The Payroll Coordinator of the CAGD, Mrs Matilda Adjei Gbedema, took the students through the various processes that went into the regular and prompt monthly payment of salaries for state employees and pensioners.
The processes included checks and validations from the employing ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to the Accra offices of all the regions in the country.
The Head of Accra Salaries, Mr Sebestian Azumah, also explained that the introduction of the Electronic Salary Payment Voucher (ESPV) and the biometric payment systems had contributed greatly to the elimination of ‘ghost names’ and all types of improper payments of salaries and pensions.
The Deputy Chief Cashier of the department, Mr Frederick Dela Tsotovor, said the current system required the issue of warrants before government funds were released.
He said the introduction of the Ghana Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) had brought about sanity and prudence in the handling of all government financial transactions.
Students show gratitude
The students, led by a Teaching Assistant, Mr Adjei Ahmed Yaqub, expressed their gratitude to the Controller and Accountant General, Mr Seidu Kotomah, the management and staff of the department for their warm reception and for making it possible for them to undertake such a useful tour.
