Mission Statement

“To maintain an effective accounting methodology and accounting systems across government; exercise a monitoring role on the disbursements of public funds and report fairly and truthfully the financial position of Government.”

The Government Accounts Directorate has been set up in December 2006 as part of the Treasury restructuring plans. It is deeply involved and champions various initiatives in financial management.

Accounting Operations

This section is the executive arm of the Accountant General.  It is guided by the Public Finance Management Act 2019 and General Financial Regulations 1966 as well as by circulars and guidelines issued from time to time to assist in the interpretation of financial policy and legislation.

The Government Accounts Directorate ensures that all Ministries and Departments adopt and maintain uniformity in the accounting system. During the year, this section prepares the Annual Financial Statements, the Financial Report, and the Monthly Comparative Return of Expenditure and Revenue along with the publication of the Consolidated Fund Account every quarter as required by legislation. This section also prepares ad hoc reports requested by the Ministry for Finance and Employment, the National Statistics Office, and the Central Bank of Malta.

After the Yearly Budget, This Directorate is responsible for setting up the accounting system for the next financial year according to the Financial Estimates. This section is responsible for processing cheques and SEPA payments. The Treasury has significantly reduced the number of cheques and is promoting more bank transfers. The Treasury manages the Consolidated Fund, the Treasury Clearance Fund, and other funds and accounts held by the Government.

The Section also carries out other duties related to Public Credit, Government Loans and Investments, Investments through MGI, Trust Funds and their related Investments, Warrants and Advances, and monitors Other Deposit Accounts. Furthermore, the Directorate is also responsible for the monitoring of several suspense accounts found in the Government’s accounting system.

Cash Office 

The Treasury Cash office performs front office work, serving both members of the public and Government Departments daily.

This section is also responsible for the handling of cash and deposits of money received, cash flow projections, garnishee orders, stop payments, and cancellation of cheques. This Office also manages the implementation of the budget measures cheques. Moreover, this section processes all local and overseas SEPA payments and any travel-related payments from all Government Departments.

The cash office is also responsible for the reconciliation of the Public Account and this office also collects returns from Ministries/Departments on their respective End of end-of-year statement of year bank balances held at local commercial banks and Central Bank of Malta.

Verifications Unit

The Verifications unit has a dual remit, the verification of local payments made by Government Departments and the verification of Official Travel made by public officers.

Verification of Local Payments

Legal Notice 185/2007 empowers the Verifications Unit to verify payments being processed and other payments already processed and paid. During the verification exercise, the Unit’s role is to review, appraise, and report on the adequacy of procedures adopted by Government Departments to ensure that proper financial controls are in place and function effectively, which is issued on a quarterly basis and copied to the National Audit Office (NAO). Furthermore, processed payments which are identified as not being in conformity with current regulations, are highlighted and the Department is informed to take the appropriate action to rectify.

Verification of Official Travel by public officers

The Verifications Unit also verifies payments, procedures and practices related to travel. This is carried out to ensure that practices observed are in conformity with the rules stipulated in the Manual on Transport and Travel Policies and Procedures. The Unit requests post-travel documentation to verify that the process follows the established rules and any deviations from the established policies are communicated to the Department to rectify the situation. Another task performed by the Verifications Unit is the monitoring of the submissions made by Travelling Officers for overseas visits.