By Steve Agbota and Itoro Godwin
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has commended the Federal Government over the management of public funds through the establishment of Treasury Single Account (TSA) in the country.
The 52nd President of the institute, Deacon Titus A. Soetan, who spoke at the workshop on TSA organised by ICAN in Lagos, said the TSA, which was an initiative of the Federal Government, was a bold and commendable move directed at stamping out corruption in the polity.
According to him, the implementation of the scheme would enable all government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to remit all their revenue collections into a single account with commercial banks acting as agents.
He added that at the close of the day’s transactions, the banks are required to remit all the moneys collected to TSA at the CBN, adding that it was a departure from the past where government revenues were collected through several segmented channels giving rise to leakages in the revenue collection chain.
“About 400 days since the commencement of the scheme, ICAN as an institute whose interest is not limited to its members but also to the public, believes that now is the time to assess the working of the scheme so far to advise where appropriate, areas of improvement in order to maximise its benefits.
“It is against this background that the theme of the workshop: ‘Operation, Implementation and Challenges of Treasury Single Account’ was chosen. There is no doubt that with diligent implementation, the Treasury Single Account will enhance transparency and accountability in the management of public funds. Management of public funds is an area of interest to us as professional accountants and also as citizens. We are therefore in support of initiatives designed to plug any leakages in income and revenue collection.”