To support project partners in improving project financial management, Oxfam has introduced project accounting software that enables project partners to make accounting report faster and more accuracy.
When return to practice, accountants of partners could not apply and run accounting software; they still make accounting and financial report in two separated sheets in Excel as calculating monthly expenditures in one sheet and rewrite by hand the results to Financial report form. The main reason here is that partners’ accountants and project coordinators have not well mastered some calculation functions on Excel to extract data and link monthly accounting to Financial report form. While introductions on calculation functions in computer are all in English. In some cases, when former accountant (for example Ms. Ngoan in Plant Protection Sub-Department (PPSD) of Yen Bai province) did not handout accounting software to new accountant when retired. Therefore Financial report often takes time and less accuracy.
In May 2012, workers of Center for Community Development VietHung (CCDV) have checked and tested accounting software to fix its problem as:
– Check the linkages between Financial report sheet and monthly accounting sheets.
– Adjust contents of calculation sheets to be consistent.
– Insert and correct calculation functions to march budget code and monthly accounting
– Test calculation (run accounting in July as example in training, and insert accounting in August as additional data in both VND and USD)
– Outcome shows that monthly accounting data are consolidated and converted into Financial report form accuracy.
– The corrected accounting software can run in all Excel versions.
On 25 May 2012, CCDV work with Mr. Hien – project coordinator and Ms. Nga – new accountant ò PPSD Yen Bai to test an accounting software with Midterm financial report form in PPSD’s computer. We have seen that this accounting software is easy to apply and gives accuracy data. PPSD Yen Bai has known to replicate this accounting software (in June 2012) for accounting management from April to September 2012 when it makes final Financial report. CCDV will technical provide support on this issue to PPSD Yen Bai and other provinces too.
(source: CCDV)
