Web-Enabled Online Treasury Information System OTIS

 Web-Enabled Online Treasury Information System OTIS

-Dr. Lalit Kumar

The Electronic Payment System (EPS) is implemented in Government with the support of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Treasuries and Accounts Department. The web-enabled various modules are incorporated one by one to computerize the operations of the treasury of a state. The Government of Haryana implemented various modules for e-Governance including Online Budgeting, e-Billing, e-Salary, e-GRAS, e-Pension, e-Stocking, Web-enabled OTIS, NPS, RD, CCD, PLA, etc.

A. Online Budget:

Financial Management starts from the estimation of receipts and expenses in the upcoming financial year. For smooth functioning of Budget Estimation, firstly it is required to prepare and submit the Budget Estimates online with the help of module of Online Budgeting. In Haryana, the Online Budget Allocation, Monitoring, and Analysis System is used to prepare and allocate the Budget.

B. e-Salary, e-Billing, and e-Pension:

The salaries are the most important component of the payments of the treasuries and with the e-Salary module, the function is streamlined effectively. After the retirement of an employee, the pension is processed with the help of the e-Pension module. The e-Billing module in Haryana is nowadays used for processing payments through Electronic Payment System (EPS) mode to employees and persons other than employees. All types of Bills/Cheques/Refund Çlaims etc. are processed in the modules for transparency and e-Governance in the State Governments.

The EPS pay orders are processed by the Treasuries, with the help of Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs), in case any EPS pay order is unpaid, it is canceled from the treasury and the fresh bill is required to be submitted in the e-Billing system.

Closing of Bank Accounts and Using only UCP for Payments

In order to stop parking of funds, the Government decided to close bank accounts that are opened in the name/designation of the Officers in the banks for Government transactions. A meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Haryana, on 3^rd December 2013 made serious observations regarding parking of funds outside the Government accounts. Such accounts were decided to close immediately or permission is taken from the Finance Department. In case, accounts are closed, the amount lying in the bank accounts be deposited in state treasuries without any delay.

The directions of the Government state that once a bill/cheque/refund order is presented in the e-Billing system, it makes the payment directly in the account of the payee and the earlier irregular practices of transfer of government funds in current or saving account of banks by the DDOs/HoDs needs to be strictly curbed except exceptional circumstances, where the procedure of operating bank account cannot be done away with.

C. e-Post Sanctioning System

In May 2014 in Haryana, to streamline the process of sanctioning various new posts, a module was added in the Integrated Financial and Human Resource Management System (IFHRMS), known as the e-Post Sanctioning System. The departments were directed first to enter the details of sanctioned posts and working strength of each and every post of their existing offices. The data was submitted and sent to the Finance Department and no change is possible without the permission of the Finance Department.

Creation of posts or Shifting of Posts

For the creation of new posts or shifting of posts within the department, the request can be processed from Establishment Controlling Officer (ECO) to Establishment Controlling Authority (ECA). Thereafter the approval may be sought from the Administrative Department. After getting the approval, the Head of Department/BCA can send the demand of creating new posts or shifting of posts, to the Finance Department.

In order to verify whether the new posts are created or not, whether the posts are shifted from one office to another or not? The DDOs can use the system to view the existing sanctioned posts and their working strength in various offices. The system entry is a must to create or abolish or shifting/transfer a post.

In case of any problem in the e-Post system, the Officers may communicate at softprobl@gmail.com or contact on the telephone numbers mentioned on the website of Online Budgeting.

D. e-TDS Module in the e-Billing portal

To avoid the late fee/penalty i.e. Rs. 200 per day to be paid by the Drawing and Disbursing Officer, under section 234E of Income Tax Act; the e-Billing module of Treasuries Department supports DDOs to file the quarterly TDS return online.

*Copyright © 2021 Dr. Lalit Kumar. All rights reserved. 

This article is written by Dr. Lalit Kumar Setia; a renowned author and trainer. He completed his Doctorate in Commerce from Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra and MBA in Information Technology from GJU, Hisar. He also wrote two books, 15 research papers, and organized more than 200 Training Courses during his working period since 2006 in Haryana Institute of Public Administration, Gurugram. The article was published on 25th September 2021 and last updated on 25th September 2021. The writer can be contacted on lalitkumarsetia@gmail.com 

More Articles of Your Interest

https://drlalitsetia.blogspot.com/2021/09/how-does-unique-code-of-payee-work.html 

https://drlalitsetia.blogspot.com/2021/09/pension-under-employees-provident-fund.html 

https://leavesofprogress.blogspot.com/2021/09/parking-of-funds-and-personal-ledger.html

 

Inventory Management

Inventory Management

The inventory management is a very crucial part of the duties of officers in administration and management of an organization. It includes estimation of required goods and services, making of purchase orders, storage and management of procured goods, monitoring of contractors, using goods and services as per mandate and keeping proper records of the same. With the increase in competition, the organizations require reducing the cost of goods and services, accordingly the policies are framed to ensure proper procurement and utilization of the inventory.

Why Inventory Management?

It is well known that the holding inventory requires blocking or investing the cash in inventory items and thereafter its storage and record management are also time-consuming processes with involvement of resources. The companies are also considering Just In Time (JIT) method of inventory management with zero storage of the goods. The time of an inventory required to be managed after its procurement and before its fully utilization; require proper monitoring and keeping of records which are being seen as tedious operations. Further, after a long time of not being used, an item becomes part of the dead stock, again waste of time and resources to clear it. But proper inventory management helps an organization to grow with effective and efficient use of inventory whenever required by using managerial approaches.  

Shortage and Excess of Inventory:

Both the shortage and excess of inventory are harmful for the organization. The shortage of any store item can be a big problem whenever the item is required on urgent basis while the excess of any store item become headache due to improper management of the same. The excess inventory brings more risks of losses by theft, fire, or damages.

How much Inventory in one Order?

How much quantity of inventory should be ordered in one time, that depends entirely upon the utilization pattern of the inventory and also how much quantity of each item standing in the available stock. The concept known as Economic Order Quantity (EoQ) is used to measure the adequate and proper quantity for making the orders become economical to an organization. For this purpose, most of the organizations decide to use proper method for utilizing the existing inventory like First In First Out (FIFO) or Last In First Out (LIFO) etc.

Inventory Management in Government:

In Government, the finance department is entrusted to ensure optimum utilization of resources and on behalf of government, the rules are framed to be implemented by Department of Supplies and Disposal. In each government office, the Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) is responsible to implement the rules, policies, and instructions issued by the finance department. Let’s understand the process of procurement in Government.

The Public Procurement Bill 2012 defines, “Procurement is acquisition of goods, works or services or any combination thereof, by purchase / lease / licence or otherwise, including award of Public Private Partnership projects, by a procuring entity, whether directly or through an agency with which a contract for procurement services is entered into.”

The procurement or purchase process includes

(i)      Estimation of Requirements,

(ii)     Taking Administrative and Financial Approvals,

(iii)     Formulating Technical and Commercial Specifications,

(iv)     Procuring goods / Works / Services through

(a) Offline Procurement

(1) Approved Sources: 

   The approved sources are those government organizations which have been notified as procurement channels on part of government. A DDO should firstly approach them to procure the required goods / works / services. The list of approved sources is available with directorate of supplies and disposal.

(2) Without Quotations: 

    As per rules, there are limits fixed for purchase without quotations. In Haryana, it is Rs. 10000 (Ten Thousands only) (detailed in Rule 7 provided in Appendix 15 of PFR Volume – II, revised on 2nd Sept 2019). Further, it is also provided that such purchases without quotation/tender can be upto Rs. 100000 (One Lac Rupees) in a year.

(3) With Quotations: 

   As per rules, there are limited fixed for purchases with quotation. In Haryana, there is threshold limit of Rs. 1 Lac above which it is mandatory to use e-procurement. For quotation purposes, in Haryana; whenever procurement is of the amount between Rs. 10,001 to Rs. 1 Lac; quotations are invited. Total sum of amount utilized through quotations cannot exceed Rs. 5 Lacs in a year. However, e-procurement can also be used in such circumstances if desired by the competent authorities.

(4) Manual Tender: 

    As per rules in Haryana State, the manual tender is now not to be used however, in case of quotations i.e. from 10,001 to 1,00,000; the authorities may decide to use this method of procurement to control the mal practices in procurement. Tender is a two tier process, i.e. Technical and Financial rounds made for the bidders. Firstly, the bids of the bidders are evaluated on technical specifications and only the short-listed bidders’ financial bids are evaluated for the award of the tender. The bidder with lowest quoted price is provided opportunity to supply the goods or complete the works / services as per the terms and conditions provided in the tender document. The negotiations (if required) are also made with the bidder (known as L-1, the bidder with lowest quoted price). Thereafter, the supplier is required to supply the goods within the delivery period mentioned in the supply order. In case of delay in supply, a penalty of 2% per month subject to maximum of 10% can be levied on the supplier which is also detailed in the terms and conditions. While computing the amount of penalty, the amount of taxes (in invoice) is not taken into consideration; in other words, the penalty is imposed on actual price without including taxes.

(5) e-Tender or e-Procurement: 

   In Haryana, If amount of procurement becomes equal or above 1 Lac, then e-procurement  or e-Tendering is mandatory.

(b) Online Procurement Government e-Marketplace (GeM): 

 For online procurement of goods / works / services, a portal was launched by the Government of India, known as www.gem.gov.in. The Directorate of Supplies and Disposal was replaced with GeM on 2nd April, 2019. This portal is used in central and state government offices mandatory to procure the goods however procuring authorities are responsible to ensure the procurement at reasonable prices. 

(v)    Receiving of Goods / Completion of Works / Monitoring of Services

(vi)  Acceptance of Goods / Works / Services {Using inspection methods}

(vii) Physical Verification of Goods {at Regular intervals, at the time of change in stock-in-charge}

In Government, the rules are provided at relevant websites of the Finance Department (for example, www.finhry.nic.in for Haryana Government). In Haryana, the rules are entitled as Punjab Financial Rules (PFR). In Central Government organizations, the rules are entitled as General Financial Rules (GFR). Second, most important rules are ‘Delegation of Financial Power Rules (DFPR); in PFR of Haryana Government the rules are detailed in part I of PFR. Thirdly, there are guidelines on procurement available on website of https://cvc.nic.in. Fourth, the officers should be well versed with the instructions of the Director General of Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D). Fifth, the manuals are also prepared by the departments for effective compliance of the procurement procedures, that should also be available with the DDO.

Stock Register for Inventory Management:

The organizations maintain a register for proper recording of stock transactions inside the organization. The register is known as stock register. The stock register is maintained by Store-in-charge and placed in store from where the goods are supplied to various users of the organization. The store-in-charges prepare the requirements of the stock as per the needs of the users and then put up the case for preparing purchase order.

In case of procurement in large amount, it is mandatory to formulate committees for preparing and finalization of the purchase using purchase orders. Higher the amount of purchase, higher the authorities are involved in procurement process. First of all, proper sanction (administrative and financial) is sought from the competent authorities. The sanction is provided as per the availability of the budget.

It is also ensured that the purchase should not be made by splitting the demand or requirement of the users. The purchase rules are compliance by formulating comparative statements wherever required and taking final approval before providing a purchase order. The supplier’s goods are inspected with the specifications, thereafter the bill is submitted for payment of the supplier.

Each and every voucher along with approvals and other relevant proofs is kept in record by the accounts department so that later on audit of the same can be done.

Use of Software:

The organizations are using specific software for proper management of Inventory. The use of software depends upon the needs of the organization. In most of the organizations, MS-Excel is used for keeping the records of inventory. In case of large organizations, Tally software or specifically designed Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Systematic Application Product (SAP) are used for management of the inventory.

*Copyright © 2019 Dr. Lalit Kumar. All rights reserved.

Government Accounting and Audit Mechanisms

Government Accounting and Audit Mechanisms

By Dr. Lalit Kumar Setia 

The malpractices are increasing year after year in Government offices and the Government is continuously making efforts to control the malpractices. In India, the Himachal Pradesh State Forests Development Corporation Limited affected with losses due to timber cartels (as notices and conveyed in CAG report*). In sale of deodar, due to cartels, the corporation lost Rs. 18 crores amount and the losses increased from Rs. 31.66 crores in 2010-11, to 52.75 crores in 2014-15. Due to cartels, the government offices usually cannot receive the competitive rates in auction, and there is lack of competition in bidders leading to cartel formations. Government can only increase the publicity of the auction and ensure the internal checks in the processes. But that is also not taken seriously by the officers most of the times and they adopt the convenient ways of auction. 
It is required to move to e-auction strictly and wide publicity should be done through various social media platforms. A course is usually organized by Faculty of Financial Management, HIPA, Gurugram in National Capital Region of India; focusing upon such issues.
Purpose:

The main objective of the above course is to build the capacity of officers to supervise and monitor the accounting operations including billing, receipts, tax deductions at source, and financial control through audit mechanisms at their work-space

Who participates in the course?

The course builds up the capacity of Officers including Principals, Assistant Professors, District Statistical Officers, Sub-Divisional Officers, Head of Offices, and Accounts Officers.

What is generally covered in this course:

At the end of the course, the participants became able to 

(i) describe the book-keeping and accounting mechanisms in Government organizations including maintenance of cash book, 

(ii) describe the process of auditing accounting records and physically verification of store register, 

(iii) compute accurate amount of income tax of each employee, deduct tax at source (TDS), and submission of e-TDS return.

*Copyright © 2018 Dr. Lalit Kumar. All rights reserved. 

References:

*This information has been retrieved from newspaper 'Business Standard' dated 30th April 2016, 'Timber cartels in Himachal causing huge losses, says auditor'.

Next Page - Accounts Administration and Prevention of Irregularities

https://managerialadministration.blogspot.com/2018/10/accounts-administration-and-prevention.html

Untold Story of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services

Untold Story of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services

By Dr. Lalit Kumar Setia |  @drlalitsetia  |  drlalitsetia@gmail.com  |  Created October 09, 2018

Updated 30th May, 2019

Everybody tries to earn more and then utilize the earnings for maximum satisfaction. In order to stay happy, an amount is always kept in liquid form so that it can be utilized at the time of need, in emergencies or for common day to day functions. The keeping and maintaining such amount is most important and in case, it is not managed the common day to day functions may be affected and the emergency needs may become more stressful. The liquidity is also important for every company to deal the corporate affairs smoothly. Recent case of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), is full of learning on liquidity management.

What does IL&FS do and why to safeguard it from failure?

Like all companies the IL&FS also required to manage working capital to maintain liquidity but it failed to maintain in second quarter of financial year 2018-19. In order to safeguard the company from failure, the Central Government of India come up with a rescue plan for bailing it out from the debt and replacing its management in September 2018. The point to consider here is, “Why Government tried to safeguard IL&FS?”

Basically, the IL&FS is a group company of 12 companies which is formed with equity capital invested by three companies i.e. Central Bank of India, Unit Trust of India and Housing Development Finance Company. The IL&FS funds the infrastructural projects of India and for getting financial resources, it raises debt. The debt also includes short term loan from Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The debt becomes uncontrollable with the amount over Rs. 91 crores in September 2018. The Government worried because the failure of IL&FS can affect the infrastructural development of India and the debt if not paid by IL&FS then the banking sector may face crisis which further be a big problem for whole India.

In case, the government had not taken over the IL&FS, the 28 billion investments of IL&FS into mutual funds may be affected adversely. But the question is whether the government will be able to control the failure of management by using a new board of directors. The Indian economy is already under the threat of rising global crude prices and appreciation in the value of Dollar in terms of rupee.

How IL&FS Crisis is detected?

Since the IL&FS is a group company formed with its subsidiaries and the subsidiaries are not listed companies; the subsidiaries are not required to follow the audit norms. Due to non-compliance of strict audit norms; the weak financial position of the subsidiaries was not detected because no statutory audit is applicable in case of non-listed companies. But in September 2018, the IL&FS defaulted on its commercial paper obligations; and the IL&FS audit pointed out its uncertainty in recovering advances provided to its subsidiaries. Due to failure in recovery, the financial statements were showing an accumulated loss of Rs. 4.61 billion including net working capital deficit of Rs. 13.48 billion.

What caused IL&FS suffered with Crisis?

The analysis of business environment of IL&FS detected that the cause of concern behind the crisis was its legal environment; including the introduction of new land acquisition act by which it became very difficult to procure land in infrastructure projects. Due to delay in procuring land, the funds become mismanaged and company became in huge liquidity crunch. Since the failure of IL&FS can influence a lot of entities very negatively due to its huge investments in banks, mutual funds and infrastructure players; the central government took the decision to change its management. 

Why Indian Economy Shocked with IL&FS Crisis?

With detection of liquidity crisis in IL&FS, every expert became surprised on failue of a large company in India. The Government think-tank NITI Ayog and Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) start detecting the causes of liquidity crunch in IL&FS. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) also investigated the company and found that the IL&FS was suffering with a debt of Rs. 91 crores and hold assets of Rs. 115 crores which may be liquidated to tackle the crisis. But sudden sale of its assets may lead to losses, and decision is taken to change the management and tackle the problems.

How Crisis is tackled with intelligence?

The default in making payments to short term loans, dented the creditability of the company and the lenders & stakeholders worried for their investments in the company. Nobody was ready to invest more in the company and to change the image, the management is replaced with appointment of experienced people including Sh. Uday Kotak, Sh. G.C. Chaturvedi, Sh. G.N. Bajpai having experience in finance and administration. It increased the confidence of lenders and investors in IL&FS.

The over-leverage of IL&FS is controlled to reduce the liquidity crisis in the company. The projects of the company were funded by long-term debt. The faith in the company returned and it started working well as earlier under strict control of new governance of the new management.

Does Finance require continuous attention of Management?

The case of IL&FS liquidity crisis, taught a lesson that the management should keep continuous attention on its finances. The only formula to get success in an organization is managing finances as per its strategy. It is fact that without proper management, an organization cannot sustain in this competitive world.

The mismanagement in the organizational activities of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) made everyone realize the value of effective management. The credit rating of the companies seems very good with four star and five stars but even after such ratings, the companies start falling in meeting their financial needs if the finances are not controlled.

The Effective Financial Management is the key

Recent crises of IL&FS, DHFL and Zee Group etc. proved the importance of financial management in a company. Merely gaining higher credit rating by an agency cannot sort out the problems and cannot be trusted as a mark of credibility; but the decisions and management of the company can change the entire picture as happened in case of IL&FS liquidity crisis.

Now-a-days, the investors became annoyed when a higher ranked credit rating company failed to deliver the expected performance. It is must to understand the importance of financial decisions instead of trusting over the credit rating. The agencies which rate the companies should also consider the internal strengths apart from the financial position, while rating them.

What can further be done to improve performance of IL&FS?

This is in the hands of new board of directors, now to take effective financial decisions. One decision can be debt restructuring which has already been used in the year 2014 in IL&FS but that cannot be the permanent solution to the company. Another solution is selling assets which may be sold at loss, but that loss will ensure the safe future of the company in terms of liquidity. In case, the losses are not booked and avoided, it can further affect the performance of the company. The new strategic approach is required to have some new innovative ideas for performing better in the projects of infrastructure and earn more profits to settle long-term loans of the company.  

*Copyright © 2018 Dr. Lalit Kumar. All rights reserved. 

You might also be interested in reading the following:

1. Duties of a Clerk in Government Departments or Public Sector Entities  

2. Social Responsibilities of Business  

3. Effective Administration of Accounts - A solution to get rid of Economic Crimes  

4. Untold Story of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services 

5. Purchase Procedures including Government e-Marketplace and Combating Corruption 

6. Government Accounting and Audit Mechanisms 

Financial Procedures in Government

Financial Procedures in Government

-Dr. Lalit Kumar Setia*

The issue of ensuring compliance of financial procedures in Government Organizations is not a new emerging issue. It is seen everyday or at least every-week, in the newspapers regarding financial irregularities, embezzlement, political intervention, and reports of Comptroller and Auditor General exposing the shortcomings of financial framework in Government offices. It is required "to build the capacity of Officers to perform financial procedures at their workspace as per latest Financial Rules and instructions issued by Government". 

The Financial and Administrative Officers including Finance Managers, Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs), XENs, SDOs, Principals, Deputy Directors, Employment Officers, Accounts Officers, Section Officers etc.; who deals with the accounting and financial operations in Government offices are required regular updates with regard to latest rules and regulations. The State Administrative Training Institutes are relied by the Governments to incorporate emerging issues in their training curriculum and assist officers to understand the significance of each new update alongwith enforcing the updated rules, instructions in the officers under their supervision. 

Skills for Financial Operations:

What is required basically, is to upgrade the skills of officers dealing financial and accounting operations with regard to various grey areas identified during the past training courses being organized from time to time. It is the need of the hour to describe the provisions of Punjab Financial Rules relating to Financial Management; undertake Purchase Operations as per latest Financial Rules (including GeM and e-Procurement); compute recovery of Loans and Advances as per latest norms including functioning through Punjab National Bank (PNB); use MS-Excel software to undertake operations relating to financial procedures at workspace; and deduct accurate amount of income tax and submitting e-TDS return. 

On part of Administrative Training Institutions (ATIs); it is ensured that the officer trainees remain punctual and participate sincerely in each training session. On the first day of course, an introduction of facilities available at campus of the institute, are described and it is also tried to assess the training needs of the participants so that greater emphasis can be given on training inputs where they are facing more difficulties at their workspace such as  

 e-procurement and Government e-Marketplace (GeM)

or 

financial procedures relating to e-TDS

or

purchase and Government eMarketplace

The courses normally proved beneficial with providing a lot of learning in the form of notes and presentations during the training days. The practical exercises and assignments further develop the interest of trainees to have in-depth knowledge of financial procedures. In each batch, as per standards of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT); the number of participants enrolled, remain between 15 to 25. The adequate number of officers also been provided opportunity to have interactions thoroughly with clearance of all doubts.  

You may also like:

1. Compliance of Financial Rules in Government Organizations

2. Financial Terminology for Finance Officers

3. Financial Terminology for Drawing and Disbursing Officers and Financial Executives

4. Organizational Performance depends upon Accountability and Compliance of Rules

5. Fixing Responsibility of an Officer or Staff in Frauds & Embezzlement

6. Financial Terminology for Drawing and Disbursing Officers and Financial Executives

7. Tax Deduction at Source for Deductors

8. Fixing Responsibility of an Officer or Staff in Frauds & Embezzlement

9. Superintendents enforce and supervise administrative control

Effective Administration of Accounts - A solution to get rid of Economic Crimes

Effective Administration of Accounts - A solution to get rid of Economic Crimes

By Dr. Lalit Kumar Setia |  @drlalitsetia  |  drlalitsetia@gmail.com  |  March 4, 2018 1:26 a.m. PST

The administration of accounts is a great job in itself. The Accounts Administrators bear the responsibilities of supervising the accounting functions at their work-space including keeping accounts through proper book-keeping method, deduction of taxes, invoicing, and management of inventory. In public sector organizations, the role of Accounts Administrators becomes more tedious with the intervention of bureaucrats and dealing public in addition to supervising the accounting operations. They trust upon the accounting staff and assign duties to the staff members. Around the world, there is huge demand of Accounts Administrators and the category includes the Accounts officers and Auditors. Even in India, most of the students are opting engineering and science streams after matriculation, and the area of finance, accounts is becoming more lucrative now-a-days. Due to globalization and growing Indian economy, it is must to have an exposure to the various applications relating to accounts administration.

The Faculty of Financial Administration, Gurugram (Delhi-NCR), India (Asia) designed a module to sharpen the accounting and financial skills of executives working in the public sector organizations of Haryana state in order to reduce the number of scams, embezzlement, and financial irregularities by spreading awareness on tips to effective accounts administration and investigation of economic crimes at the work-space. The duties and responsibilities with regard to effective accounts administration covers:

(i) Monitoring bills, receipts, and expenditures: 

The Accounts Administrators are responsible for receiving and verifying billing (e-billing) and requisitions (invoices) for goods and services. They ensure that accounts receivable and payable are taken care of in a timely manner and they contact clients (citizens) and vendors (sellers) to achieve and accomplish the desired operations.

(ii) Analyzing data and extracting information

It is required to ensure the compliance of financial rules, policies, and procedures in financial transactions. In order to ensure compliance, it is required to analyze the transactions keeping in view the required information. The Accounts Administrators use the analyzed information as basis of financial decisions.

(iii) Keeping Organized Financial Records

It is duty of the Accounts Administrator to keep the financial records as per accounting standards. In public sector organizations, the standards are formulated by Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board (GASAB), working under Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

(iv) Invoicing and Tracking of Vouchers

The Government of India is transforming the manual vouchers into digital vouchers and the e-sign implementation is also under progress. Proper invoicing, coding and processing of vouchers is must for ensuring the accuracy of accounting entries. Tracking invoices, digitalizing vouchers and detecting financial irregularities is major duty of an Accounts Administrator.

(v) Supporting Accounting Staff and inculcating team-spirit

The Accounts Administrator requires leadership skills to inculcate team-spirit among the accounting staff working under his/her control. The accounting staff requires support to work independently for ensuring fair accounting principles to be followed in recording financial transactions.

Skills to be imparted in Accounts Administrators: The Accounts Administrators should be equipped with following skills to perform their duties effectively:

(i) Payroll Administration(ii) Monitoring of Expenses as per allocated funds or cash budget(iii) Consistent watch over maintenance of Cash Book(iv) Proficiency in Accounting Software(v) Managerial Skills including Supervision, Negotiation, and Leadership(vi) Auditing(vii) Public Speaking(viii) Information Technology (IT) Skills(ix) Spreadsheet Modeling(x) Quality and Financial Control

Challenges in front of Accounts Administrators:  

The Accounts Administrators require playing various roles for the success of organization. From purchase procedures to enforcement of financial control mechanisms, they require to stay firm in controlling cost of operations. The first challenges is to ensure fair purchases at the workspace, the pooling and malpractices by the contractors and vendors with involving senior officers or staff or ministers or other influential people make their job hard. Secondly, they require keeping accuracy in the vouchers as well as in entries of vouchers in financial books, the unusual expenses if required to be adjusted by management, their role to keep the vouchers and entry safe, becomes tedious. A single mistake can lead to bursting of whole scam in light like in case of Punjab National Bank scam, 'Rotomac' Scam, Coal Scam and Scam in Common Wealth Games. In today’s age of governance through Citizen Charter, C.M. Window, Right to Information Act etc; further made their role tough and difficult.

The course on “Accounts Administration and Investigation of Economic Crimes” covers a lot and includes 20 sessions to be covered by the trainees at Haryana Institute of Public Administration. At the end of the course, there are difficult and practical group interactions to further enrich the knowledge and skills of Accounts Administrators through discussions on practical problems at workspace. The Canberra Institute of Technology provides a certificate course entitled, “Certificate III in Accounts Administration FNS30315 [i]” used to provide knowledge and skills to work effectively as Accounts Administrator. The Cost of the certificate of Canberra Institute of Technology takes from the participation is $880 for one semester (20-hours) face-to-face classes per week plus up to 15 hours per week of online study and independent learning. While, this course designed by Faculty of Financial Management of Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) only charges training fees of Rs. 3000 (Three Thousands only) equivalent to $60 for 20-hours face-to-face classes per week. However, the course is meant for only Government officers/officials of Haryana Government Offices.

*Copyright © 2018 Dr. Lalit Kumar. All rights reserved. Dr. Lalit Kumar is a free-lance writer with publication of research papers in various esteemed and reputed journals. Presently he is working as Course Director (Faculty of Financial Management), HIPA, Gurugram (Delhi-NCR), India (Asia). 

You might also be interested in reading the following:

1. Duties of a Clerk in Government Departments or Public Sector Entities  2. Social Responsibilities of Business  3. Effective Administration of Accounts - A solution to get rid of Economic Crimes  4. Untold story of IL&FS  5. Purchase Procedures including Government e-Marketplace and Combating Corruption 6. Government Accounting and Audit Mechanisms