Mandate
The Office of the Financial Controller (OFC) was established in 1975 to assist the Council of Ministers execute its oversight responsibility. The mandate and functions of the Financial Controller is stated in Council Regulations C/REG.12/12/06; C/REG.32/12/07 and C/REG./05/2009 which empowers the officer to:
Ensure that all expenditure in Community Institutions are in line with their approved budget and the proper implementation of Community’s budgetary and accounting controls;
Endorse upon verification, all expenditure commitments in all Institutions;
Issues periodic reports on budgetary, financial and accounting management of the Community to the Council, and to the Administration and Finance Committee for information sharing purposes;
Participate in the preparation of regulations aimed at improving the financial and accounting management of the Institutions and also make proposals for the improvement of financial, accounting and administrative procedures to the Council of Ministers;
Develop training programs for all levels of the Financial Controller’s staff;
Prepare appraisal system for all staff of the OFC;
Serve as a member of the Community Levy Management Committee;
Manage the budget of the OFC;
Carry out any other responsibilities as stipulated in the Financial Regulation, Manual of Accounting Procedure, or as specifically requested by the Council of Ministers.
Activities and accomplishments
In executing its mandate, the OFC has contributed significantly to the improvement of weak financial management systems and controls in all ECOWAS Institutions and Agencies. For instance, appropriate recommendations were made to Council which led to the following specific achievements:
The establishment of the Audit Committee and its code of conduct;
The establishment of the Donor Unit within the Finance Directorate to manage donor funds;
Increased compliance with the regulations and other Community Tests;
Appreciable increase in the rate of budget performance;
The establishment of Monitoring and Evaluation Units in the Commission and other Institutions;
The revision of the Tender Code and Staff Regulations and the establishment of procurement units in the Commission, GIABA, Parliament and Court of Justice to ensure good practices and;
The development of a Controllers’ Procedure Manual and the infusion of considerable operational and administrative discipline into the application of Community resources.
