Following instructions from H.H Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and H.H Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and under the guidance of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance (DoF), DoF has held a workshop on the ’New Government Accounting Directory’, for local government representatives, complementing its plans to unify all the financial systems across governmental departments in the Emirate.

Inaugurated by H.E Mohammed Sultan Al Hamli, Executive Director at DoF, the workshop was attended by 140 participants including managers, executives, and other representatives of all government departments in the Emirate. DoF is currently implementing a financial systems development project designed to unify the financial and accounting systems used by government departments in Abu Dhabi. The objectives of the workshop was to outline the basis of the new systems, as well as encourage support for an integrated accounting directory, which will be the main reference source for all government departments in Abu Dhabi.

During the workshop, representatives from DoF explained the goals behind this new initiative and presented a first draft of the Directory to the government department representatives present. Feedback will be taken from all other government departments in order to compile the final version which will be issued by DoF and used as the new standard across the Emirate.

Commenting on the workshop, H.E Al Hamli said: "Under the guidance of our Chairman, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, DoF is leading the Abu Dhabi Government’s plans to decentralize the management and execution of budgeting plans for each government department, while unifying the financial and accounting systems used by them. This standardization is critical for the effective development of unified financial reports which can be seen as more transparent and accountable."

He continues: "Abu Dhabi is committed to following the International Public Sector Accounting Standards as part of its membership criteria of the International Monetary Fund and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We have engaged some experienced consultants from Australia and New Zealand who are helping us to design world-class policies and policies and systems that we believe will help us to lead the way in local government financial reporting at an international level."

Mr.Peter Ferman, Vice President of Budgets at the Government of the State of Victoria in Australia, and Mr. Calvin Power, a specialist budgeting consultant, attended the workshop and shared their experiences in local government financial reporting, as well as presenting an overview about DoF’s ’Accrual System of Accounting’ project, which sees the new Directory as an integral and essential component.
 

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