N5 – Module 3
• Be able to explain to the cabinet requests made by the department for additional funds; • Play an active role in reducing the expenditure of the department when Parliament or the cabinet ask them to do so;
• Not abdicate responsibility for the financial administration of the department.
There should be excellent communication channels between ministers and the departmental financial officers who often act on their behalf. Ministers should keep Accounting Officers informed of the new policy changes and directions which have financial implications; at the same time personnel are expected to timeously and regularly inform ministers of the financial state of the department – it is most embarrassing for a minister to be caught off guard in executive council meetings when questioned about a particular programme. In this regard ministers rely very heavily on thier personnel, especially the Accounting Officers.
Role of the Auditor-General As we have already noted earlier, the State Auditor or Auditor-General, as the office is known in South Africa, is empowered to determine the manner in which the executive authority (the political body responsible for finance) executes the management of of public funds. (See more about the kind of ex-post facto duties of this office on page 51).
Their report is submitted to The Legislature who in turn makes a copy available to the Public Accounts Committee who then expertly interprets the findings and recommendations to members of Parliament. The Auditor-General is appointed by the President after being nominated by a joint committee of the houses of Parliament, composed of one member of each party. This nomination must be approved by the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (Senate) without debate, by a majority of two-thirds of the members present. See Module 2 of
www.Publicfinance4sa.info (under Cape Town Leads The Way) for latest report and track record of local authorities and the audits performed by The Auditor-General. It is perhaps regrettable that two years ago only 17 of the 278 municipalities received a clean audit (find out what this means).
Role of the Accounting Officers (Directors-General) Accounting Officers should be able to account personally for all the financial transactions of his department. They should, therefore, have full control over the finances of their departments. They will be called upon to submit their department’s annual draft budget to The Treasury. They will also answer any queries about any item in the budget itself. According to Gildenhuys (1993:157), the functions of the Accounting Officer can be divided into two main areas: • the preparation and submission of their department’s draft budget; • the execution of the approved budget.
Remember that because the draft budget reflects the goals of The Legislature, the execution of this budget will therefore attempt to realise these goals so that the Legislature may fulfil its promise to its voters. The administration of a departmental budget vote is the Accounting Officers’ responsibility and they always remain fully accountable for this. They obtain, therefore, funds from The Treasury by means of requisitions which they must personally sign. They need, therefore, to be intimately concerned with the financial situation of their department and should supervise all expenditure made or proposed by their department. They are personally accountable to the Public Accounts Committee for the financial administration of their department. They will rely on their departmental financial officers to keep a proper account of all transactions
Although the Departmental Financial Officers (see next page for their role) are, in fact, the bookkeepers and accountants of each department and there should be an efficient departmental accounting system at his disposal, the Accounting Officer (Director-General) should be an expert in public finance. This should include, not only knowledge of general financial practice, but also public administration and financial management.
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