The new system is a business accounting suite which comprises the main accounting systems used in the federal government like the performance-based budgeting, purchasing, ordering , expenditure, revenue, payroll, fixed assets and cash management. H.E Jassem AL Shamsi, Undersecretary for Accounting & Audit division in the ministry in a presentation delivered today for all representatives of the federal governments ministries and authorities said : 'The introduction of the new financial management and accounting system (FMIS) is part of the ministries' endeavor to enhance the government's overall financial performance, and is in compliance with the general policies drawn by the UAE leadership'.
'The Legacy systems used in the federal government for financial management systems do not adhere easily to international accounting and reporting standards. Therefore a need was felt to procure and implement a new modern financial management information system ' he added.
AL Shamsi noted that 'By adopting the (FMIS) we are aiming to gain international recognition for our accounting systems as well as strengthen our management reporting, resulting in an overall improvement in planning and control, while providing decision makers with crucial financial data'.
The (FMIS) will be introduced gradually from January 2005 and will initially be centralized in the Ministry of Finance and Industry. Decentralization of the accounting operation will be handed back to the federal ministries' over a period of the first six months of 2005, as staff of the federal ministries are trained and become competent in the use of the system .
In the second phase of the FMIS, ministries with proven capability and capacity in accounting and audit will become self-accounting ministries, operating their own bank accounts while being accountable to the Ministry of Finance and Industry in retaining compliance with the federal budget's laws and circulars.
Autor: Anne-Birte Stensgaard
Quelle: AME Info, 20.12.2004
