At independence the first Ghanaian Accountant-General Mr Prah was, I believe, not an accountant with letters after his name. But he was good and kept all of us on our toes as did the auditors. An auditor’s report was taken seriously and the accounting office of the ministry who was generally the Civil Service head took resolute action on it. Any offending officer was disciplined immediately and where appropriate was reported to the police as well. These days we have very qualified accountants to help look after our money. Sometimes I wonder whether what we have, are chartered or chattering accountants. I am intrigued by the advertisement of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) which presents photographs of personalities and asks “What do all these have in common?” We are told they are all CIMA members and that “MBA, ACCA and ICA” holders can also apply to be trained as CIMA professionals!! Professional training is most necessary in today’s world but it is not sufficient. We need that commitment to the ideals of the institution and discipline of mind and attitude to discharge the duties of the profession faithfully and effectively. At independence it was found out that we did not have trained accountants to help manage the number of projects that were being undertaken. As best as I can recollect; the first trained accountant was Mr Harry Dodoo who became the manager of the Cocoa Marketing Board. We, therefore, intensified the training of accountants. But financial management did not improve that much as some of us expected. Ghana Airways Accountants for example, were years behind in arrears and no wonder it collapsed. Many state institutions and organisations did not fare well. I know of institutions with qualified accountants whose accounts are today generally three months in arrears. How can directors of companies and institutions take appropriate measures to correct trends? The crux of the matter is that many aspire to get to the directors’ position because of allowances and perks. It was high time we strengthened our rules and regulations so that directors suffer meaningfully for gross lapses and failures in their institutions and companies. The Registrar general’s hand should also be strengthened to demand that audited accounts of public and private organisations be submitted in time, failing which substantial penalties should be imposed. To return to financial management of public institutions, we should not be confused by the experts. Parliament was reported to be setting up “an administrative panel to enforce the recommendations of the Auditor-General’s report on public accounts of Ghana to ensure sanity in the public financial management system”. There is no need to set up another body which will suffer from the same Ghanaian disease of inaction for fear of stepping on toes especially of party big wigs incurring the displeasure of those in high positions. At the Audit Service Annual Accountability Lectures in Accra recently, my good friend Hon. Kan-Dapaah, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament said that 95 per cent of the issues raised in the Auditor-General's report were administratively related. Why can't the administration deal with these matters as was done in the past? As usual in Ghana we blame our tools for our inability to act and arm ourselves with old gadgets dressed as new. Thus we agreed to set up Audit Implementation Committees under Section 30 of the Audit Service Act, 2000 and expected all to be well without insistence on hard work. Naturally, malfeasance continues to occur. What is worse, some institutions have not prepared any financial statements as bemoaned recently by Mr Richard Quartey, the Auditor-General. His staff is not readily given access to information and documents. Proper audit of accounts is thereby impeded. What more do we need? Another legislation? No. Let us go by the present rules. Let us enforce old practices which stood the test of time. We have people like J.Y.L. Philips who can tell us how a handful of unfettered Ghanaians maintained financial sanity in the past. I avoided old Philips when I could because he made colleagues who were wishy-washy small. I consulted his subordinates like the late Mr. H. J. Arthur in the first instance. Arthur and I agreed that I should submit one omnibus application a month before the end of the financial year. I consulted him or another competent officer when I was not sure. Financial rules and regulations were applied at the risk of effective sanctions. The reports of auditors did not then wait for the annual reports of the Auditor-General before being acted upon. These days when we encounter the problems which assail administrators and professionals, we take refuge in fallen educational standards and sigh with relief when it is agreed that capacity building is the answer. We embark on more training schemes. In the present fast-moving and changing world we cannot have too many seminars and the like. But the bottom line is performance. Administrators, professionals and other officers should be made to work without political or other interference. Those who do not work or cannot work should be shown the door. Unlettered men and women with standard seven certificates built this country after independence. High qualifications do not deliver the goods. Discipline and hard work are needed to stop the rot and move the country forward in financial administration.