TOMAS CLAUDIO COLLEGES

Morong, Rizal

GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTMENT

Professor : DR. NELSON S. GONZALES Subject : Educ. 206

Student : SHARA FAYE M. GALPAO Time : 11:00am – 03:00pm
Date : July 3, 2021

REACTION PAPER NO. 2

1. Aware of the scope of leader accountability for School Financial Management,

enumerate the safety nets you would implement when you become the bursar of

school finance.

2. Enumerate the good points about the public financial management reform that

made it a priority for the previous administration of president Benigno Simeon

Cojuangco Aquino III.

3. If you were President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, would you sign the Philippine Public

Financial Accountability Bill into a Law? Why?

Answer:

1. As a bursar of school finances comprises planning, controlling, and

implementing a financial plan, accounting, reporting and protection of assets

from loss, damage, and fraud. This demand inculcating essential leadership

values and traits among the custodians of school funds, strong internal

controls and setting robust internal audit standards.

The safety nets that I would implement are budgetary control, budget

reviews and cash banking. Budgetary control because the planning process

helps to develop objectives, key activities, milestones, Key Performance

Indicators (KPIs), financial policies and procedures. Most schools struggle to

effectively implement their budgets and this hinders or delays the schools to

improve the quality of education. In most schools, budgets are not being

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effectively monitored to the extent that numerous budget amendments and

adjustments are being done without the requisite authority’s approval. In any

organization, budgets serve as guides or benchmarks to financial planning

and projects management. In view of the poor financial policies and

procedures, most school heads and bursars are being found wanting during

the audit process. It is imperative that all budget amendments and

adjustments should be authorized by the relevant authorities. In Zimbabwe

the office of Provincial Education Director is responsible for the authorization

of budgets amendments based on cash flows rather than on accrual basis.

The school development plan should inform budget management and as such

minimize deviations from set targets. Budget Reviews because budgets are

not being reviewed after every end of School Terms hence there will be no

budgets analysis being done. Budget reviews are part of financial controls to

determine any variances between planned and actual results. The

determination of variances is useful as a spur to immediate remedial action if

actual performance is below expectation. Budget reviews help to enhance

financial control, and this is a continuous process to ensure school’s

resources are mobilized and distributed effectively. The process also

enhances monitoring and evaluating the school’s financial progress and

initiating corrective action. Cash Banking because the economy relies mainly

on cash payments and as such most schools use receipted cash before

banking, which is a chargeable offence in financial management. All cash

received must be banked first before being used. The digitization of school

fees payments should be a top priority in most schools as a method of

enhancing the financial management function.

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Answer:

2. The previous President, Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III support the

public financial management reform because he would end corruption and the

evil it breeds. Corruption is an evil and scourge which seriously affects the

political, economic, and social life of a nation. His and the country’s resolve to

follow straight and righteous path saw the transformation of damaged public

institutions into more transparent and responsive ones. The aims of public

Financial Management to improve efficiency, accountability and transparency

in public fund in order to ensure the direct, immediate, substantia and

economical delivery of public services especially to the poor.

Answer:

3. If I were President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, I will sign the Philippine Public

Financial Accountability Bill into a Law to ensure public spending integrity and

accountability through greater transparency, fiscal responsibility, result

orientation, efficiency and effectiveness.

Duterte’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” program has identified at least

75 flagship projects worth about P180 billion to be undertaken over the next

decade, which need the backing of a more transparent, result-oriented

budgetary reforms, said Salceda, a noted economist. He pointed out that the

new measure “enforces the power of Congress to authorize all appropriations

and hold government offices accountable in the use of public funds, as well as

the responsibility of all agencies to propose, execute and deliver results

committed in the appropriations acts.” It promotes “people empowerment in

the management of public resources by enforcing their right to access to

information on, and to contribute in the formulation and implementation of the

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financial affairs of the government.” The Budget Reform Act applies to the

management of revenue, expenditure, financing arrangements, and assets

and liabilities of national government agencies, GOCCs and LGUs.

Congress’s oversight power by monitoring and reviewing actual

performance and results against targets and hold government agencies

accountable for their financial and non-financial performance. The measure

“mandates the Office of the President to approve the Statement of Policy and

Medium-Term Fiscal Strategy for submission to Congress, as well as the

Budget Priorities Framework to identify the priority areas of government

spending.”