THA Steps Up Efforts To Digitise Accounting Operations
The Tobago House of Assembly is stepping up efforts to digitise its accounting systems.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Secretary of Finance, Trade and the Economy Petal-Ann Roberts stated that payments and reports could be issued more efficiently, while the process could also be better monitored to flag any problems that may occur.
« We are engaging Free Balance; that is the company that is actually digitising the operations in Trinidad. The Minister gave me the all clear to go ahead and engage with them because we had some teething problems with the implementation in Tobago. »
The Finance Secretary could not indicate when the digitalisation process would be finalised, but admitted that additional measures are needed to improve the efficiency of the existing manual payment process and ensure payments are issued more promptly.
« It deals with training, supervision. I have… one of the things I have done in the Division of Finance is that I have brought on a management accountant, someone who has a lot of experience, about thirty-something years in the public service. I have brought back on to assist in training, to assist in just the efficiencies in departments across the Division of Finance and the THA, that’s all we have been doing. »
Ms Roberts said her team remains committed to minimising payment delays and is actively working to improve the timeliness of payments to contractors and service providers.
