The Director-General of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) Amb. Edward Boateng has called for a more collaborative effort by oversight bodies in ensuring compliance of Specified Entities (SEs) with their reporting requirements.

In an interview on GTV’s Breakfast Show recently, Amb. Boateng indicated that as part of the reform programme to turn the fortunes of SOEs around, SIGA in collaboration with other oversight bodies: the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD), the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), and the Auditor General’s Department (AGD); held a meeting with SE heads on Tuesday, 5th April at the Alisa Hotel to discuss effective ways of ensuring that Specified Entities comply with reporting requirements, especially financial reporting.

He emphasised that the biggest hindrance to the optimal performance of SEs over the years has been the lack of discipline on the part of their top Management, especially with respect to compliance with reporting requirements.

“What we are trying to do is to introduce that discipline, efficiency, and diligence towards the dispatch of responsibilities owed the shareholder”, he added.

Amb. Boateng was however quick to acknowledge some of the legitimate challenges SE heads face in filing their reports. He said: “Most of today’s SE heads have inherited historical debts which have been rolled over from several decades back, some twenty, fifteen years old, making it hard for them to provide the necessary accounting as they are uncertain on where to start from.”

According to Ambassador Boateng, there is a need for sit-down discussions where SE heads and shareholders agree on where to draw the line. “We need to clean the books up so that we can move forward”, he said.