This archive report was first published on 13 September 2021.
On September 13, 2021, the Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (PSASB) collaborated with the National Treasury to prescribe a financial reporting format for public secondary schools in Kenya.
The new template is designed to plug in the loopholes in the use of public resources in all public secondary schools, and is done under the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
Since 2014, the PSASB has prescribed IPSAS for public entities to enhance accountability and transparency and safeguard the use of public funds. The uptake rate has been going up since then.
According to PSASB Chief Executive Fredrick Riaga, "Transparency and accountability in financial management are paramount to the continuity and sustainability of learning institutions as they seek to provide knowledge to the current generations and in posterity."
Following the release of the reporting format, the Ministry of Education has directed all public secondary schools to comply with the new rules through a circular.
The circular requires all public secondary schools to report their finances from July 1 to June 30, in line with the government fiscal year. Previously, public secondary schools reported their finances over a calendar year that runs from January to December.
The circular urges schools that have submitted their financial statements for the financial year ending December 31, 2020, to prepare six months' financial statements up from January 1, 2021, to June 30, 2021. Schools that have not submitted their financial statements for 2020 shall prepare the statements for 18 months from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021.
Financial statements should be ready by September 30, 2021, in compliance with the Public Finance Management Act of 2012, signed by Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Jwan.
