A group of 17 government workers were honored last Friday for completing the first-ever eight-month-long governmental accounting course, a collaboration between the Ministry of Finance and the College of the Marshall Islands.
The ceremony was held at the Marshall Islands Resort’s Melele Room to recognize the 17 who successfully completed the course. Finance Minister Alfred Alfred, Jr. was on hand to express his appreciation to the group and to the Asian Development Bank, which funded the program.
This governmental accounting course, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), was developed with the primary objective of “up-skilling” national government employees to promote professional development in the public sector and help enhance the management of public finances in the RMI, said Finance Secretary May Bing.
The program was launched in September 2019 covering governmental accounting topics such as fund accounting, the Chart of Accounts of the RMI government, Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) statements relevant to the RMI, and the preparation and analysis of the government’s annual financial statements including disclosure notes. The course was delivered in hybrid format — both in-class and online — using the facilities of CMI.
Finance officials said the successful partnership between the Ministry of Finance and CMI opens the door to future educational opportunities for government workers from different ministries and agencies in collaboration with CMI.