UAE’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has launched the second phase of its transition program for the implementation of accrual accounting systems in government organizations which was first introduced in June 2020.
MoF’s first phase of accrual accounting implementation included the Ministry of Economy, the Federal Tax Authority, the Federal Customs Authority, the Ministry of Community Development, the Ministry of State for Federal National Council Affairs, and the UAE Space Agency.
The second phase of the program will include the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, the Ministry of Justice, the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, and the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources.
The transition to accrual accounting is expected to improve the effectiveness of financial planning in the country in line with international best practices.
UAE’s Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid bin Humaid Al Tayer remarked the initiative as a turning point in achieving the Ministry of Finance’s strategic goal of “raising the efficiency and effectiveness of budget implementation and managing the financial position and cash flows of the federal government.”
The Minister observed that the third and final phase of the transition program is set to launch at the beginning of 2021.
Obaid bin Humaid Al Tayer MoS for Financial Affairs UAE
“The Ministry of Finance is keen to continue cooperation and coordination with federal entities to improve government work and enhance resource management efficiency. Transitioning and adopting accrual accounting would strengthen the country’s leading position in global competitiveness indices, and will serve as a concrete indicator of the government’s standing among the world’s leading governments in applying the best management methodologies and government accounting standards.”
The Ministry has also been instrumental in conducting virtual training workshops for federal government entities to assist them in their transition to accrual accounting.
Specialists in assets, revenues, liabilities, expenses and closures from the Department of Financial and Administration Affairs, along with 429 ministry and federal government entities attended the workshop, which sought to raise awareness on the federal government program to adopt accrual accounting.
Mariam Al Amiri, Assistant Under-Secretary of the Financial Management Sector at the MoF highlighted the importance of this workshop in raising the efficiency of specialized employees in national federal authorities on the various activities and accounting standards related to the transition program.
