The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) will hold the inaugural Public Finance Management (PFM) Conference from 18 - 20 April 2023 at
the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel, Entebbe, and online.
The conference targets accounting officers, policymakers, planners, economists, auditors, accounting and finance professionals, development partners, civil society
actors, Members of Parliament, PFM Consultants and members of the public.
Organised under the theme, Strengthening the Public Finance Management for Sustainable Development, the conference seeks to bring together public sector
players to share experiences and re-empower each other to tackle the challenges affecting optimal utilisation of public resources.
The public sector is a nation’s vehicle for service delivery. Public goods such as transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure, healthcare, security, utility
services, and education, among others are better provided by the government. However, Uganda’s public sector continues to be marred by accountability scandals.
Despite the introduction of PFM reforms, and the efforts of the Parliamentary accountability committees to hold public officials answerable for public
expenditure, the scandals rage on.
In 2021, ICPAU conducted a survey to assess the improvements resulting from the Government of Uganda PFM reforms. Although over two-thirds of the respondents
revealed that the PFM reform programmes had a significant impact and were successful in generating improvements in the key aspects of public financial
management, political interference, financial constraints, inadequate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, and non-aligned policies were
highlighted as persistent hindrances for long lasting PFM reform in Uganda.
The topics for the PFM conference were carefully selected based on the ailing drivers of PFM implementation, such as inadequate Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) infrastructure, ineffective resource mobilisation, financial reporting gaps, and a weak retirement planning culture in the civil service.
Speakers will also discuss the public procurement and disposal reforms, tax compliance and the growing effectiveness of Parliament’s oversight function, as
enablers of PFM reform. The goal is to develop innovative and practical solutions for Uganda.
In addition to organising platforms for dialogue, ICPAU supports the government’s PFM reform programmes through other measures such as the Financial Reporting.
(FiRe) Awards to improve the quality of public sector financial reporting. ICPAU also established a Public Sector Accountancy Working Group to support the government’s
PFM roadmap and to promote accrual accounting in line with International Public Sector Accounting Standards.
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Abraham Malinga
Communications Intern
