There is concern that accountants in the public service are being underutilised.
Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, raised the issue as he contended that there cannot be any discussions about increased transparency and accountability in the public service, without a meaningful debate on the role of accountants and financial managers in the public service. With that in mind, Inniss dismissed the annual Auditor General’s report as nothing more than a reflection of weak administrative systems which do not engage the role of qualified accountants, rather about infelicities guided by politicians as is often thought.
He was speaking yesterday morning during the opening of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados and Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) Canada’s Public Sector Conference 2018 at the Hilton Hotel. The Minister said while he is pleased at the growing number of public officers who have obtained qualifications and designations from internationally recognised professional accounting bodies and their skills have been instrumental in improving financial management of our public sector, he feels much more is required to recognise and reward the discipline of accountants within the public service.
“I continue to be amused about how we can still justify the operation of a Legal Services Commission at a time when we have such a large number of lawyers in this society today, but still treat accountants in the public service as we treat to clerical officers. Let there be no mis-
understanding of my position, we do not need a service commission for accountants, we more likely need to recognise that a modern public service acknowledges the myriad of skills required to effectively operate the system and as such we can disband the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, which only seeks to maintain an ‘us and them’ mentality quite frankly. A good accountant is as critical to a modern public service as is a lawyer, an engineer, an admin officer or any other position. You have to demand such as accountants,” Minister Inniss maintained.
To that end, he said accountants in the public service need to stand and be counted, not as bookkeepers, but as major decision-makers in the service. He warned them that if they do not demand respect for their skills and the contribution they make, they will consistently be asked to compile budget reports and to inform permanent secretaries on what funds are left under particular heads.
“An accountant in the public sector must have a more significant role than that of a cash manager. Over my 30 years working in or around the public sector, as a director of state-owned entities, as an employee of state enterprises, as a political advisor and as a Cabinet Minister, and of course as a taxpayer, I have seen way too many significant decisions made that were void of deep financial analysis.
The Industry and Commerce Minister’s comments came as he lamented that the role of an accountant in the private sector is seen as a more significant position than a comparable person with the same qualifications in the public sector. This, he said, needs to change. He made the point while saying that he looks forward to the day when more qualified accountants seek employment within the public sector, as a way of making a more meaningful contribution to national discourse and development.
(JRT)