Public Sector entities to benefit from the FiRe Award

Nairobi October 12, 2015….Kenya’s public sector is expected to enhance financial reporting, following increased participation in the Excellence in Financial Report Awards (Fire Award) this year.

The annual awards are organized by the Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (PSASB), Capital Markets Authority (CMA), Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).
The PSASB Chairman, Mr Bernard Ndung’u, who is also the Director General of Accounting Services at the National Treasury, said 234 public sector entries have been received, following a decision to enhance public sector participation, designed to promote more transparent financial reporting in the public sector in Kenya. The public Institutions include; Ministries, Departments and Agencies, State Corporations and Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies, and the County Governments.

In addition to the 234 public sector entries, there are another 120 entries from the financial services sector, industrial, commercial and services sector, public benefits organizations, pension schemes and learning institutions, bringing the total entries to 354 in 2015 compared to 125 in 2014.
Mr Ndung’u said; ‘’Increased participation by the public sector demonstrates commitment to more open accountability in the use of public funds and offers the entities an opportunity to be assessed against global standards through the International Public Sector Accounting Standards which is the reporting framework adopted in Kenya in 2014’’.

Highlighting the impact of financial reporting, the Capital Markets Authority Acting Chief Executive, Mr. Paul Muthaura, noted that “responsible financial reporting contributes significantly to ensuring the relevance and reliability of financial information provided to investors as they make decisions on participation in the capital markets”.

The NSE Chief Executive, Mr. Geoffrey Odundo, said; “The participation of public sector institutions in this year’s FiRe Award, will enhance the accountability and transparency of public institutions, thereby increasing their attractiveness to financiers, bolstering the economic growth of our country“.

The ICPAK Chief Executive, Dr. Patrick Ngumi, observed; ‘’the entry of public sector into the FiRe Award creates a whole new sense of enhanced disclosures of financial and non-financial information of public sector entities and contributes significantly to strengthening the informative value of public sector financial reporting as envisaged in the Public Financial Management Act, 2012’’.

The awards focus on voluntary disclosure of relevant information in annual reports that go significantly beyond the minimum legal and regulatory requirements. The awards continue to be important for stakeholders and are expected to embed a stronger financial reporting culture in Kenya.