REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA Public Finance Management Regulations for Public Finance Management Act 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS PUBLIC FINANCE MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS, 2009 11 SECTION I – GENERAL FINANCIAL REGULATIONS PART A. GENERAL RULES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS 11 A.1. Openness and Accountability 11 A.2. Monetary Unit, Accounting and Reporting Currency 11 A.4. Treasury and Accounting Instructions 12 A.5. Government Agency’s Accounting Manuals 12 A.6. Review of Accounting Systems in Government Agencies 13 A.7. Responsibility for Handing Over 13 A.8. Accounting Responsibility not Diminished by Audit 13 A.9. Security of Signatures 13 A.10. Signing Blank or Blind 14 A.11. Restricted Use of Green Ink 14 A.12. Use of Indelible Ink and Prohibition of Alterations 14 A.13. Amendment of Figures 14 A.14. Electronic Records or Accounting Systems 15 A.15. Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure 15 A.16. Conformity with Law and Financial Regulations 16 A.17. Duty to Report Irregularity 16 A.18. Exercise of Judgement in Applying Regulations 16 A.19. Review of Discretionary Action 17 A.20. Breach of Financial Discipline 17 PART B. PUBLIC FUNDS AND CONSOLIDATED FUND 18 B.1. Public Funds 18 B.2. Composition of the Consolidated Fund 18 B.3. Other Public Funds 19 B.4. Creation of Consolidated Fund 19 B.5. Withdrawal from Consolidated Fund and Public Funds 19 B.6. Payments into Designated Bank Account 20 B.7. Collection and Lodgement of Non-Tax Revenue 21 B.8 Lodgement of Retained Internally Generated Funds 21 B.9. Accounting and Disclosure of Non-Tax Revenue 21 B.10. Review of Rates, Fees and Charges 22 B.11. Responsibility for Collection of Public Funds 22 B.12. Ceremonial Receipts 22 B.13. Lodgement of Trust Moneys in the Consolidated Fund 22 B.14. Collections outside of Liberia 22 B.15. Information on Official Receipting Arrangement 22 B.16. Hours of Collection 23 B.17. Notice of Liability to Pay Revenue 23 B.18. Issue of Original Receipt 23 2 B.19. Acceptance of Legal Tender 23 B.20. Checks Payable to the Government of Liberia 24 B.21. Monetary Instruments Requiring Approval 24 B.22. Responsibility for Paying by Monetary Instruments other than Cash 24 B.23. Comptroller-General or Auditor-General Inspection 24 B.24. Activities to be Prioritized 25 B.25. Responsibility in Respect of Payments 25 B.26. Balance of Appropriation 26 B.27. Foreign Payments 26 B.28. Payees 27 B.29. Restriction on Public Officers 27 B.30. Recovery of Overpayments 27 B.31. Payment Procedures in Times of Emergency 27 B.32. Level of Cash Holdings 27 B.33. Authorized Petty Cash Balances 28 B.34. Determination of Authorized Petty Cash Balances 28 B.35. Excess Cash 28 B.36. Private Use of Cash Prohibited 28 B.37. Access of the Comptroller-General and the Auditor-General 29 PART C. AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PUBLIC OFFICER IN PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 29 C.1. Authority of the President 29 C.2. Responsibilities and Authority of the Minister 29 C.3. The Authority and Responsibilities of Line or Sector Ministers 31 C.4. Duties of the Deputy and Assistant Ministers 32 C.5. The Office of the Comptroller-General 33 C.6. Head of Agency or Head of Spending Unit 34 C.7. Acting Head of Agency or Spending Units 34 C.8. Responsibilities of Accounting Officers 34 C.9. Delegation of Duties by Head of Agency or Spending Unit 36 PART D. THE BUDGET PREPARATION AND APPROVAL PROCESS 36 D.1. Public Access to the Budget 36 D.2. Budget Cycle 36 D.3. The First Phase of the Budget Cycle 36 D.4. The Second Phase of the Budget Cycle 37 D.5. Gross Basis and Coverage of the Budget 37 D.6. Documents and Contents of Proposed Budget 38 D.7. The Draft Appropriation Bill 39 D.8. President’s Budget Message 39 D.9. Budget Call Circular/Budget Guidelines 40 D.10. Budget Instructions 40 D.11. Supplementary Instructions by Ministries 40 D.12. Government Agency Budget Instructions 40 D.13. Uniform Chart of Accounts and Budget Classification 40 D.14. Classification of Confidential Expenditures 41 3 D.15. Changes in Budget Classification 41 D.16. Budget Committees and Their Responsibilities 41 D.17. Revenue Estimates 42 D.18. Classification of Expenditure and Payments 42 D.19. Expenditure Estimates 43 D.20. Submission of Budget Proposals 44 D.21. Examination of Budget Proposals 44 D.22. Budget Hearing 44 D.23. Budget Approval 44 PART E. BUDGET EXECUTION 45 E.1. General Rules Related to Budget Execution 45 E.2. Supplementary Guidelines on Budget Execution 45 E.3. Release of Funds to Meet Expenditure 46 E.4. Provisional Warrant 46 E.5. Audit Copies 46 E.6. Budgetary Control 46 E.7. Warning of Budget Variation 47 E.8. Reallocations 47 E.9. Revised Budget Estimate 48 E.10. Content of Revised Estimates 49 E.11. Supplementary Provision for Existing Activities 49 E.12. Supplementary Provision for New Activities 49 E.13. Supplementary Provision Arising from Increase in Costs of Activities 49 E.14. Notification of Revised Estimates 50 E.15. Evasion of Expenditure Control 50 E.16. Double Spending 50 E.17. Reporting Budgetary Progress 50 PART F. GOVERNMENT BORROWING, PUBLIC DEBT AND GOVERNMENT GUARANTEES 50 F.1. Conditions for Government Debt 50 F.2. Debt Limit 51 F.3. Powers in Relation to the Government Debt 52 F.4. Government Guaranteed Debt 53 F.5. Debt of the Central Bank of Liberia, and Social Security Corporation 54 F.6. Private Debt 54 F.7. Government Debt Agent 54 F.8. Information on the Debt 56 PART G. AID MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF NON- GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS 56 G.1 Responsibilities of Spending Agencies for Donor Funding 56 G.2 Minister’s and Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs’ Responsibility for Donor Funding 56 G.3 Accounting for Donor Funding 57 G.4 Responsibilities of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) 57 G.5 Documents to be Attached 58 4 PART H. CASH MANAGEMENT AND BANKING ARRANGEMENTS 58 H.1 Establishment of a Cash Management Unit 58 H.2 Responsibilities For Cash Flow Planning 59 H.3 In-year cash flow fluctuations and variations 60 H.4 Surrender Of End-Of Year Surplus Cash Balances 60 H.5 Establishment of Treasury Single Account 60 H.6 Operations Of A Treasury Single Account 60 H.7 Investment of Surplus Balances of the Treasury Single Account 61 H.8 Banking arrangements 61 H.9 Operation of Transitory Accounts 62 H.10 Registers and records of government bank accounts 62 H.11 Authority to have access to government bank accounts 62 PART I. ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING 63 I.1. Responsibility of the Comptroller-General 63 I.2. Accounting Records 63 I.3. Definition of Working Papers 63 I.4. Definition and Classes of Archival Records 63 I.5. Provisions for Archival Records 63 I.6. Public Accounts and Classification 64 I.7. Basis of Accounts 64 I.8. Opening of Suspense Accounts 64 I.9. Quarterly Government Agency or Fund accounts 64 I.10. Quarterly Consolidated Fund Account 65 I.11. Annual Government Agency Accounts 65 I.12. Annual Consolidated Fund Account 65 I.13. Annual Public Account 66 I.14. Documents and Records Pertaining to Accounts 66 I.15. Failure to Provide Financial Statements 67 I.16. Closure of Accounts 67 I.17. Deletion from the Accounts 67 I.18. Fiscal Year 68 I.19. Audit of Accounts 68 PART J. INTERNAL CONTROL AND INTERNAL AUDIT 68 J.1 Establishment and Functions of Internal Audit Governance Board 68 J.2. Establishment and Functions of the Internal Audit Governance Board Secretariat 69 J.3 Establishment of Internal Audit Units in government agencies 70 PART K. MONITORING AND OVERSIGHT 70 K.1. The General Auditing Commission and the Auditor-General 70 K.2. Powers and Functions of the Auditor-General 71 K.3. Independence of the Auditor-General 71 K.4. Submission of the Audit Report to the Legislature 72 K.5. Failure to Answer Audit Queries 72 K.6. Audit Queries Register 72 K.7. Expenditure Tracking Units 72 5 K.8. Duty of Heads of Government Agencies to Respond to Management Letters 73 K.9. Register of Irregularities 73 K.10. Establishment of Audit Committee 73 K.11. Functions of Audit Committee 73 K.12. Committee Membership and Organisation 74 K.13. Meetings of the Audit Committee 74 K.14. Ways, Means and Finance Committee of the Legislature 75 PART L. AUTONOMOUS AGENCIES AND SPECIAL FUNDS 75 L.1. Autonomous Agencies 75 L.2. Special Funds 76 L.3. Disbursements of Special Funds 76 L.4. Accounting and Reporting for Special Funds 76 L.5. Annual Accounts of Special Fund 77 PART M. STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES 77 M.1. Governance of State-Owned Enterprises 77 M.2. Fiscal Year 77 M.3. Funds of State-Owned Enterprise 77 M.4 Borrowing and guarantees of State-Owned Enterprises 78 M.5 Debt contracting and reporting 78 M.6 Investments of Moneys 79 M.7 Award of Contracts 79 M.8 Reserves 79 M.9. Books, Accounts and Audit 79 M.10. Quarterly Report 80 M.11. Annual Report 80 M.12 The Board of Directors’ Responsibility 80 M.13. The Minister’s Right to Supervise an Enterprise 81 PART N. OFFENCES AND SANCTIONS 81 N.1. Receiving and Giving of Bribe 81 N.2. Conspiracy to Defraud 82 N.3. Falsification of Records 82 N.4.