Strengthening Financial Controls in Public Education: Hard-won lessons from the front lines

In 2018, when I assumed the role of Principal Accountant at Ghana Education Service, our district faced a daunting reality: audit reports revealed systemic financial control weaknesses, repeated infractions, and a culture where compliance was viewed as a bureaucratic burden rather than institutional protection.

Five years later, we had reduced audit infractions by 70% — a 50% reduction in the first year alone, followed by an additional 20% the next year.

This transformation didn’t result from hiring expensive consultants or implementing complex software systems. It emerged from something more fundamental: a commitment to building robust internal controls, fostering accountability, and recognizing that financial discipline directly impacts educational outcomes.

Today, as our public institutions face increasing scrutiny over resource management, these lessons carry urgent relevance for educational administrators across Ghana.

The True Cost of Weak Financial Controls

When we discuss audit infractions in government institutions, the conversation often focuses on compliance scores and regulatory consequences. We miss the deeper impact.

Every cedi misallocated due to poor controls is a textbook not purchased, a teacher salary delayed, or an infrastructure project compromised. In education, financial mismanagement doesn’t just violate regulations — it robs children of opportunities.

During my early months reviewing our financial operations, I encountered predictable problems: incomplete documentation for expenditures, reconciliations conducted months late, unclear approval hierarchies, and a general absence of segregation of duties. These weren’t isolated incidents — they represented systemic gaps that had persisted for years.

What troubled me most wasn’t the technical deficiencies. It was the mindset. Staff viewed financial controls as obstacles imposed by distant authorities rather than safeguards protecting the institution’s integrity and resources. Changing this perception became as crucial as fixing the technical processes.

Building Blocks of Reform

The transformation began with unglamorous fundamentals. We implemented a comprehensive internal control framework addressing five critical areas:

Documentation and Record-Keeping: We established standardized templates for all financial transactions, specifying exactly what supporting documents were required before any payment could be processed. Every expense now had a clear audit trail from requisition through approval to payment. This wasn’t revolutionary — it was basic accounting discipline consistently applied.

Segregation of Duties: We redesigned workflows to ensure no single individual controlled an entire transaction cycle. The person initiating a purchase couldn’t also approve it. The person reconciling bank statements couldn’t process payments. When staff initially complained about increased complexity, I explained that these controls protected them as much as the institution. Clear separation of duties meant individuals couldn’t be falsely accused of improprieties they couldn’t have committed alone.

Regular Reconciliations: We moved from sporadic, crisis-driven reconciliations to mandatory monthly closings. Bank accounts, general ledger accounts, and subsidiary ledgers were reconciled within ten working days of month-end, with discrepancies investigated immediately rather than accumulating. This discipline transformed our ability to provide accurate, timely financial information to decision-makers.

Enhanced Authorization Protocols: We documented clear spending authorities and approval thresholds, posting them prominently so everyone understood the rules. We created approval matrices showing exactly who could authorize what expenditure levels. Ambiguity — the enemy of accountability — was systematically eliminated.

Training and Capacity Building: Perhaps most importantly, we invested heavily in staff development. I conducted weekly sessions explaining not just what procedures to follow, but why they mattered. We discussed real cases (anonymized) where weak controls had enabled fraud or waste. We celebrated improvements and shared lessons from mistakes.

Overcoming Resistance

Implementing rigorous financial controls in a public institution isn’t a technical challenge — it’s a change management exercise. I encountered resistance at every level.

Junior staff complained about increased paperwork and slowed processes. I sympathized but held firm, explaining that temporary inconvenience was the price of long-term institutional health. I also worked to streamline genuinely redundant requirements, demonstrating that I wasn’t simply imposing bureaucracy for its own sake.

Mid-level managers resented lost autonomy as approval authorities were formalized and spending was monitored more closely. Some genuinely believed less oversight was more efficient. Others had grown comfortable with informal arrangements. I addressed concerns individually, emphasizing that clear controls actually enhanced their authority by providing documented justification for decisions.

Senior administrators initially worried that publicizing our control weaknesses would attract criticism. I argued that confronting problems transparently was more prudent than hoping auditors wouldn’t notice. Our candid acknowledgment of deficiencies, coupled with concrete remediation plans, ultimately earned credibility with oversight bodies.

Measuring What Matters

The 70% reduction in audit infractions wasn’t our only success metric. We tracked leading indicators that predicted audit performance:

• Percentage of transactions with complete supporting documentation increased from 64% to 97%

• Average reconciliation completion time decreased from 45 days after month-end to 8 days

• Staff training participation reached 100%, with quarterly refreshers maintaining competency

• Repeat infractions (the same control failure occurring multiple times) dropped to near zero

These operational improvements generated tangible benefits beyond audit scores. Financial reporting became reliable enough to support strategic planning. Budget variance analyses grew more accurate. We could quickly answer questions from district leadership, Parliament, or the public because our records were current and complete.

Broader Implications for Ghana’s Public Sector

The challenges we faced at Ghana Education Service aren’t unique to education or even to Ghana. They reflect common weaknesses across public institutions in developing economies: limited resources, insufficient training, cultural tolerance for informal processes, and competing priorities that push financial controls down the urgency list.

However, Ghana is at a critical juncture. As we pursue ambitious development goals with constrained resources, the imperative for financial discipline intensifies. International partners increasingly condition support on demonstrable financial management capacity. Citizens demand greater accountability through right-to-information laws and social media scrutiny. The digitization of government services creates both opportunities for enhanced controls and risks if systems aren’t properly designed.

The transition to International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), which I studied extensively through training organized by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department in partnership with ICA-G, represents another catalyst for reform. IPSAS demands accrual accounting, comprehensive asset registers, and consolidated financial statements — all impossible without robust underlying controls.

Recommendations for Educational Institutions

Based on my experience, I offer specific recommendations for educational administrators seeking to strengthen financial controls:

Start with leadership commitment. Financial control reform cannot be delegated entirely to accounting departments. School heads, district directors, and regional coordinators must visibly champion these initiatives, allocating resources and reinforcing expectations. When I had active support from senior management, implementation accelerated dramatically.

Invest in your accounting staff. The Association of Educational Accountants workshops I attended throughout my tenure provided essential professional development. Budget for training even when resources are tight. A well-trained accountant prevents losses far exceeding their training costs.

Leverage technology appropriately. While I’m now working in environments with sophisticated ERP systems like SAP and QuickBooks, we achieved our initial improvements with basic tools: spreadsheets, standardized templates, and disciplined processes. Don’t wait for perfect technology — optimize current systems first.

Build relationships with auditors. Rather than viewing external auditors as adversaries, I treated them as advisors. I proactively shared our improvement plans and solicited their input. This collaborative approach yielded valuable guidance and created goodwill that served us well during challenging audit discussions.

Celebrate progress publicly. When audit results improved, we shared the success with all staff, explicitly recognizing individuals who had embraced new procedures despite initial resistance. People respond to appreciation and pride in collective achievement.

The Path Forward

As I’ve transitioned into roles in the United States, including my current position as Senior Accountant at Wyman Center, I’ve seen that financial control principles transcend geography and sector. The same fundamentals that drove improvement at Ghana Education Service — clear policies, consistent enforcement, comprehensive training, and leadership commitment — produce results everywhere.

Ghana’s public education system serves millions of children whose futures depend on resources being used effectively. Every financial control failure represents a breach of public trust and a missed opportunity to improve educational outcomes. Yet every institution that commits to financial discipline demonstrates that improvement is possible even with limited resources.

The 70% reduction in audit infractions we achieved wasn’t a miracle. It was the predictable result of doing fundamental things consistently well. It required patience through the inevitable initial slowdown as staff adapted to new procedures. It demanded courage to confront comfortable but ineffective practices. Most importantly, it necessitated believing that public institutions could and should operate with the same financial rigor as successful private enterprises.

For my colleagues still serving in Ghana’s education sector, know that the challenges you face are surmountable. The resources required — primarily time, discipline, and commitment — lie within your control. The stakes — children’s education and public trust — demand nothing less than our best efforts.

Financial controls aren’t glamorous. They don’t generate headlines or photo opportunities. But they are foundational to everything else we aspire to achieve in public education. Without them, even the best educational policies and most dedicated teachers cannot reach their full potential.

The question isn’t whether we can afford to strengthen financial controls in our public institutions. It’s whether we can afford not.