The GFSM 2001 is a form of budget classification for MDAs to ensure full understanding of the changes within the Chart of Accounts (COA). It classifies budgeting to clearly detail the various government funding and their sources as they relate to General Government, Central Government, Public Enterprises and Local Government.
The training which was conducted in the main conference hall of MoFED on Friday, 3rd February 2017, brought representatives from 54 MDAs.
According to the Senior Deputy Financial Secretary, Prince E. O. Cole who chaired the ceremony, the main objective of the training is to ensure that trainees fully understand the changes that have taken place within the COA following the GFSM 2001 Migration training of relevant staff and to enable participants to use the amended COA in the process of developing budget formulation framework and budget classification systems consistent with the requirements of the GFSM 2001.
Mr. Cole noted that Sierra Leone is operating an Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) that has in-built GFSM2001 classification for budget execution and roll-up tables to the 27 Digits Chart of Account. The SDFS indicated that the GFSM2001 will help in providing more information that will improve fiscal and financial reporting of Government Financial System in Sierra Leone. He maintained that the GFSM2001 will help Government become GFSM2001 compliant as far as submission of the Annual Fiscal Tables and Data to the IMF’s Statistics Department “on a timely manner” and that it can also facilitate ease comparison with other countries.
Presentations were made on relevant topics pertinent to the training to include: a presentation on the current Chart of Account by Mr. Bai Sesay of the PFMRU Unit of MoFED, Budget formulation and classification systems explained by a PFM Specialist, Madam Claudia Johnson, the GFSM2001 Migration Project in Sierra Leone by Mr. Osman A. Kamara of the Budget Bureau of MoFED and the presentation on the revised MTEF PETS Form 1 by Mr. Dausy Wurie. Deputy Director of Budget, Mr. Tasima Jah introduced the objectives of the training.
