Sound public finance management education and training helps improve transparency, accountability and integrity and eliminate corruption in public finance management, said a senior official of the Association of Public Finance Accountants of Sri Lanka (APFASL), the public sector wing of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka).
“Corruption is rampant in every sector of the economy. However, our training programs have helped students to steer away from bad practices that would tarnish their reputation and the image of the accounting industry,” said Secretary of the Association of Public Finance Accountants of Sri Lanka (APFASL) and Public Sector Consultant at CA Sri Lanka, Dr. Asela Athapathu.
He said that if students are imparted with the right skills and moral values the outcome would be the country having men and women of integrity and high calibre.
If not the country would end up having dishonest people managing public finance.
“Students of public finance management should be aware of the legal implications of getting into unethical conduct. Our educational programs are structured in such a way that students comply with all ethical standards in accounting and public finance management,” Dr. Athapathu said.
The need for standards in Public Financial Management has been felt world over due to lack of transparency, accountability, and oversight.
“The public sector is criticised for being slow but that’s how the sector behaves to be careful to not fall into trouble,” Dr. Athapathu said.
Strengthening public finance management will help reduce discretionary power, standardise processes, and increase citizen participation, all of which help curb corrupt practices, he said.
Elaborating on the pressing issues faced by the business community today, he said that the US tariffs and a limited market are key issues that needs urgent attention and going forward the country needs to join Customs unions which offers numerous benefits to member nations.
For example, he said by getting into Customs unions natural rubber producing nations and rubber product manufacturing nations such as Sri Lanka can benefit through increased trade, investment and economic growth.
