Agri-10 hosts Financial Accountability Reports workshop

 

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Department of Agriculture – Northern Mindanao (DA-10) through its Administrative and Finance Division hosted the 4th Quarter Financial Accountability Reports (FARs) Workshop from January 14 to 17, here.

Attended mostly by the Budget and Accounting personnel from the DA regional field offices (RFOs) and bureaus nationwide, including from the DA-Central Office (CO), the activity is led by the DA through the Budget Division – Financial Management Service.

It aims to ensure a bolstered communication and collaboration between the different operating units and the DA-CO in the preparation, reconciliation and consolidation of accurate and timely FARs with guidance on issuances, updates and other mandatory requirements by oversight agencies.

Pursuant to Republic Act 11975 FY 2024 General Appropriations Act, submission of financial and physical accountability reports is directed to departments and bureaus under the national government, including the DA, enjoying fiscal autonomy.

Further, COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 2019-1 dated January 1, 2019 provides the guidelines relative to budget and FARs and the corresponding submission timelines for reports.

Said bases warrant for public funds to be used more efficiently and financial operations to be transparent, accountable and in line with legal standards.

Speaking before a hundred participants, DA-10 Regional Executive Director Jose Apollo Y. Pacamalan commended the DA’s finance team on their roles in the implementation of DA programs, projects and interventions, and also urged them to strike a balance between their regulatory and development functions.

Likewise, he noted that the department should be cognizant of developmental accounting, providing numbers as a reflection of the development aspect of the agriculture sector.

“I hope this workshop will help provide information for the decision-makers – the [DA] regional directors, the secretary, to see what really is going on with the projects that we have been financing in the last 12 months.” Dir. Pacamalan remarked.

For her part, DA-10 Regional Technical Director for Research and Regulations, Cora A. Dumayaca, pushed for the workshop to be considered as an avenue to share and replicate laudable budget and accounting practices among the DA attached agencies, bureaus, corporations and RFOs.

The FARs workshop further aims to provide the DA management a clear picture of the department’s financial performance to make informed decisions in mobilizing resource-driven agricultural programs, projects and services at the ground level.# (ATT/JLO)