The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has been awarded a project to develop a professional accreditation programme in Public Financial Management (PFM) for Pakistan.
To formalise and prepare for the project ACCA signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) with the partner authorities – the provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Auditor General’s office. This capacity building project is funded by the Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) managed by the World Bank.
ACCA executive director Stephen Heathcote said: “Given the pace of change and size of expenditure in the public sector in Pakistan, it’s critical that professionals working in the sector are equipped with the right skills to deal with the challenges ahead.”
ACCA’s MESA head of policy Arif Mirza added: “In Pakistan, recent changes mean that federal and provincial governments have responsibility for significantly increased resources. Because of this, a step change is needed in the skills in the public sector for public financial management.
“Effective budgeting and improving transparency is a must, especially as the governments vision 2025 aims to improve economic and social indicators of the country by significantly increasing government’s development budget over the next decade. We are honoured to be part of this critical development in professionalism of public financial management in Pakistan.”
By Mishelle Thurai
