Download the full course brochure (pdf format)

Background:

The Public Finance Management Act gives effect to the Constitutional requirements of introducing Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP) in the public sector. From the year ended 31 March 2001, all departments, Parliament and Provincial Legislatures have to prepare Annual Financial Statements according to GRAP. Given the current development status of the GRAP statements, the National Treasury through the Office of the Accountant-General has published details regarding the format and content of the Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2012.

The format of the 2012 Annual Financial Statements is a concerted effort to move towards meaningful and useful financial reporting as opposed to the limited financial information previously provided by the annual appropriation accounts.

This course:

This course is specifically designed to assist CFO's, departmental accountants and financial managers to prepare their departments' Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2012 according to the Public Finance Management Act requirements, the Treasury Regulations and the most recent Guidelines issued by the Treasury and the Office of the Accountant-General.

Who should attend:

The financial reporting responsibilities of national & provincial departments, Parliament and provincial legislatures have been fundamentally revised based on the requirements of our Constitution and the Public Finance Management legislation in particular. The Office of the Accountant-General has published technical directives in this regard.

This course is specifically designed to empower public sector accountants and those responsible to prepare the Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2011 to meet the latest requirements. CFO's, departmental accountants, financial managers, Directors: Finance and accounting staff will benefit greatly by attending the course: Preparing Annual Financial Statements ( 31/3/2012 ).

Contents:

As for all courses which form part of the Public Finance Management Programme, the content is designed around and based on the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act. This way SAIGA assists with the implementation of the Public Finance Management Act. This course specifically incorporates the latest instructions and guidelines from the National Treasury's Office of the Accountant-General.

Incorporated in the program for this two-day course are the following topics:

• Accounting Standards and guides

• Statutory requirements and General rules

• The Management Report and Statement of Accounting Policies

• The Income Statement (Statement of Financial Performance)

• The Balance Sheet (Statement of Financial Position)

• The Cash Flow Statement and Changes in Equity

• The Statement of Foreign Aid Assistance Received

• Notes to the Annual Financial Statements (AFS)

• Appropriation Statement

• Real Case Study to prepare AFS

• The International Standards as a basis for the South African AFS requirements.

• The guidance by South Africa's Accounting Standards Board.

The content of the above reports will be explained with particular emphasis on the make-up of disclosable items and illustrated by means of a comprehensive case study. Course content and focus of discussions may be adjusted and the emphasis changed depending on feed-back and questions from participants.

Please bring along a financial calculator and ruler.

Booking and cancellation policies 

Bookings

Since only a limited number of participants can be accommodated, bookings will be handled on a first-come-first-served basis. To avoid disappointment submit your registration as soon as possible.

Changes / cancellations:

Tax invoices will be issued (faxed and posted) on receipt of your booking. Once a tax invoice has been issued the department/delegate will be held liable for payment of the full course fee.  No refunds can be made, but alternative delegates (substitutes) may attend the same course at no extra cost. All booking changes or cancellations are charged at R1,368.00 (R1,200 plus 14% VAT) per delegate booking. No cancellations or changes in booking will be accepted if not received in writing at least 5 working days before the course. Invoices must be paid before the course starts. No certificates will be issued if payment is outstanding. Outstanding payments incur 2% interest per month. Due to the minimal information which banks provide in respect of direct deposits, participant have to fax their deposit slips / electronic transfer slips to the Secretariat and state the invoice number/(s) to which the deposit refers. As required by recent legislation, VAT numbers have to be provided with registration. The Institute reserves the right to cancel a particular course due to unforeseen circumstances e.g. insufficient bookings or unavailability of venues (in the last few years, only a few courses had to be cancelled). In such event, participants will be informed at least two weeks before the scheduled course date of such cancellations. Participants who have paid their fees will receive full refunds in the event of SAIGA cancelling a course (SAIGA’s liability in such event is limited to this refund).