Accounting Officers, Imprest Holders and Revenue Collectors

The previous topic described the two officers at the top of public financial control. Below them, the Financial Regulations name five more officers who handle public money day by day. The accounting officer, usually a Permanent Secretary, is answerable for the whole ministry. The sub-accounting officer takes in and pays out the money and keeps the treasury cash book.

The revenue collector receives fees and fines and must pass them on intact. The imprest holder spends small sums where the paperwork cannot go to the sub-accounting officer first. The officer controlling expenditure watches the vote and keeps the vote book so that nothing is spent without authority and money.

Together with the books they keep, these officers are the working part of the control system: when they do their duties, the totals in the Appropriation Act turn into real, authorised payments; when they do not, losses and fraud follow.

This topic sets out each officer’s definition and functions, including the accounting officer’s extra duties under the Public Procurement Act; the treasury cash book, with a worked posting; the revenue collector’s cash book, including how a cancelled receipt is treated; the vote book, with a worked example of commitments and balances; and the definitions that go with them: above-the-line and below-the-line accounts, federal pay officer, financial regulations, budgetary control concept, token vote and account current.

The next topic covers government revenue and the agencies that collect it.

No question in the diets reviewed has tested these officers as a stand-alone item, though revenue collectors’ commission and cash book entries appear in recent calculation questions. Read the Accountant-General and the Auditor-General first.

The accounting officer

An accounting officer is the Permanent Secretary of a ministry or the head of an extra-ministerial office or other arm of government who is in full control of, and responsible for, the human, material and financial resources, which are the critical inputs in managing an organisation. He is responsible for the day-to-day financial affairs of the ministry or department. He shall:

1. be responsible for safeguarding public funds and for the regularity and propriety of expenditure under his control;
2. observe and comply fully with the checks and balances in the financial regulations on receipts and disbursements of public funds and other assets in his care, and be liable for any breach;
3. note that his accountability does not cease on leaving office, and that he may be called on at any time to account for his tenure;
4. ensure that proper budgetary and accounting systems are established and maintained to improve internal control, accountability and transparency;
5. ensure that the essential management controls are in place to minimise waste and fraud;
6. render monthly and other financial returns and transcripts to the Accountant-General;
7. ensure the safety and proper maintenance of all government assets in his care;
8. appear personally before the Public Accounts Committee to answer audit queries;
9. ensure accurate collection of, and accounting for, all public money received and spent;
10. ensure prudence in the spending of public funds;
11. ensure that proper assessments, fees, rates and charges are made where necessary;
12. ensure that internal guides, rules and procedures provide security and an effective check on the assessment, collection and accounting for revenue;
13. ensure that losses of revenue are promptly reported and investigated;
14. compare revenue collected with the budget estimates and report variances and their reasons; and
15. ensure that revenue collected is not spent but remitted promptly to the appropriate authorities.

Extra duties under the Public Procurement Act

Accounting officers of ministries, extra-ministerial offices and other arms of government must also:

• preside over their tenders boards for the planning and evaluation of tenders and the execution of procurements
• ensure adequate appropriation for procurements in the annual budget
• integrate procurement expenditure into the yearly budget
• establish a procurement planning committee over which they preside
• constitute a procurement evaluation committee
• constitute a procurement committee
• render annual returns of procurement records to the Bureau of Public Procurement
• liaise with the Bureau to implement its regulations
• ensure compliance with the Public Procurement Act, failing which they are personally liable for any breach, whether or not it was caused by them, their subordinates or anyone to whom they delegated

The sub-accounting officer

The sub-accounting officer is entrusted with the receipt, custody and disbursement of public funds and must keep a recognised cash book and any other books that the Accountant-General requires. Examples: the sub-treasurer of the Federation, the Federal Pay Officer, the Police Pay Officer, the Customs Area Pay Officer and the Director of Finance and Accounts of a ministry. His functions are to:

1. make sure that the system of accounts prescribed by the Accountant-General is set up;
2. supervise the receipt of public revenue and ensure prompt collection;
3. bring into account promptly, under the proper heads and sub-heads of the estimates, all receipts;
4. provide safe keeping for public funds, securities, stamps, receipts, tickets, licences and other valuable documents;
5. supervise all officers under him who handle receipts and expenditure, with efficient checks against fraud, embezzlement and carelessness;
6. supervise expenditure and ensure that no payment is made without proper authority;
7. charge promptly in his accounts, under the proper heads and sub-heads, all disbursements;
8. check all cash and stamps in his care and agree them with the cash book and the stamp register;
9. bring to account as a receipt any cash or stamps found in excess of the book balance;
10. make good any minor deficiency not caused by theft or fraud and report it in writing to the Minister of Finance;
11. prepare promptly the financial statements required by law or the Minister; and
12. maintain the cash book.

The treasury cash book

Under Financial Regulation 201 the sub-accounting officer keeps a treasury cash book, the permanent record of all receipts, revenue and payments of the organisation. It has two sides, debit and credit, each with eight columns: 16 in all. Revenue and receipts are entered on the debit side; payments and expenditure on the credit side, each with particulars.

It is balanced daily, with a cash specification for each day, and the signature of the Head of Accounts or the Central Pay Officer certifies the accuracy of the entries and the cash balance.

The debit side columns record:

• the date
• from whom received
• the revenue classification (head and sub-head)
• the treasury receipt number
• the number of the bank credit slip
• the gross amount
• how it was received, in cash or by bank

The credit side records:

• the date
• the payment voucher number and departmental number
• to whom paid
• the classification
• the payee’s bank
• the cheque number
• the gross amount
• the deductions, cash or net bank amount

Worked posting. The Ministry of Finance of a State receives: tax of ₦120,000 (treasury receipt 41, bank draft 8801, head 100 sub-head 419) and a contractor registration fee of ₦300,000 (receipt 42, bank draft 8802, head 100 sub-head 420), a total of ₦420,000 on the debit side. It pays: payment voucher 18 for ₦2,000,000 for stationery (head 2004 sub-head 3, cheque 5501) and payment voucher 19 for ₦3,500,000 for training (head 2004 sub-head 7, cheque 5502), a total of ₦5,500,000 on the credit side.

Each line shows the classification, so that the postings can later be summarised by head.

The revenue collector

A revenue collector is an officer, other than a sub-accounting officer, who keeps official receipts and collects specified revenue for the Government. He keeps a cash book. He must not spend money out of his collections; he accounts for what he receives intact.

His functions are to:

• supervise the receipt of public revenue and make sure it is lodged promptly in the bank
• reflect all money collected promptly in the accounts under the proper heads and sub-heads
• provide for the custody of public funds and securities
• supervise the officers under him who receive, keep and pay out public funds
• keep up efficient internal checks against malpractices
• check all cash and stamps in his care against the cash book and stamp register
• make good any minor deficit not caused by theft or fraud and report it in writing to the appropriate officer

The cash book columns are: date; receipt number; revenue classification (head and sub-head); from whom received; amount received; and, on the other side, the date and number of the treasury receipt given by the sub-accounting officer when the money is handed over, and the amount.

Worked example. A court revenue collector issues receipts in a book numbered 600501 to 600550 during June, under head 200 with sub-heads 01 for declaration of age, 04 for court fines and 07 for court documents: ₦500, ₦1,800, ₦7,500, ₦900, ₦1,100, ₦500, ₦1,200 and ₦600, a total of 500 + 1,800 + 7,500 + 900 + 1,100 + 500 + 1,200 + 600 = ₦14,100. He hands over ₦14,100 on 29 June and receives treasury receipt M 400201; the balance in hand is nil.

If receipt 600503 was cancelled (a mistake in the amount) and re-issued as the next number, the cancelled receipt is not revenue: all copies stay in the book, marked “cancelled” and signed by the sub-accounting officer, and the revenue in the cash book is entered only from the valid receipt. A cash book that includes both would overstate collections and show a false deficiency in the hand-over.

If he had handed over only ₦10,600 of ₦11,000 collected, the deficiency of ₦400 (3.6% of collections) would have to be made good by him if it was a minor loss not caused by theft or fraud, with a written report. A larger or suspicious loss would be investigated.

The imprest holder

An imprest holder is an officer, other than a sub-accounting officer, who is entrusted with the disbursement of public money for which vouchers cannot immediately be presented to a sub-accounting officer for payment, and who must keep an imprest holder’s cash book. (Imprest is dealt with in more detail in a later topic.)

The officer controlling expenditure and the vote book

The officer controlling expenditure is in charge of the vote heads of each ministry or extra-ministerial department and is responsible for monitoring government expenditure and making sure that there is no extra-budgetary spending.

His functions are to:

• supervise expenditure and ensure no payment is made without proper authority
• charge all disbursements promptly to the proper heads and sub-heads
• make sure the books are correctly posted and up to date
• produce, when the Accountant-General or the Auditor-General requires, all cash, stamps and other items in his custody
• ensure funds are available under the right head and sub-head for specific vouchers
• monitor expenditure effectively
• ensure there is no extra-budgetary spending
• ensure that there is adequate security for the custody of public funds
• keep the vote book

The vote book

The vote book (the departmental vote expenditure allocation book) is a memorandum book used to monitor government expenditure and prevent extra-budgetary spending. Every officer controlling expenditure keeps one. It has 15 columns: columns 1 to 7 on the expenditure side and 8 to 15 on the liabilities side.

At the top left are the head, sub-head and type of service; at the top right are the authority and the authorised amount (the general or provisional warrant, the authority to incur expenditure, and its number). Two types of service may never be recorded together in one vote page.

Why a vote book is kept:

• for effective monitoring of spending
• to show the uncommitted balance at a glance
• to show government’s creditors or liabilities
• to make sure funds are available under the right head and sub-head for payments due
• to make sure there is no extra-budgetary spending

Worked example (₦000). The authorised appropriation for stationery is 2,000.

The balance available is always appropriation − total paid − outstanding liabilities: at the end, 2,000 − 1,200 − 250 = 550. A local purchase order reduces the balance when it is issued, not when it is paid, which stops the officer from committing more than the vote allows.

Related terms

• Below-the-line accounts are accounts created and controlled by the Accountant-General for which the exact income and expenditure cannot be reasonably ascertained when the budget is prepared. Examples: touring advances, loans and deposits (money held for third parties), and remittances and cash transfers for the Army, the Police and other paramilitary organisations.
• Above-the-line accounts are expenditure and revenue items provided for in the estimates, whose amounts can be reasonably ascertained at the time of the budget: salaries, overheads and expected customs and excise duties.
• Federal pay officer: the officer in charge of a federal pay office in a State, with the functions of a sub-accounting officer. He handles transactions between the Federal Government and the State and local governments and the branches of federal ministries in the States.
• Financial regulations (accounting manual): the rules for managing public funds, stating the procedures for receipts and disbursements and how accountability is secured.
• Budgetary control concept: government should not take any action without a prior budget for it; all revenue and expenditure must be provided in the budget.
• Token vote: a notional provision for a head or sub-head of expenditure or revenue in an estimate, a reminder to provide money for the activity as soon as possible.
• Account current: the balance of account between two or more persons (a principal and his agent), showing what is due from one to the other; used for transactions between the Federal and State governments and their agencies.
• Children’s separation domicile allowance: an allowance paid to an officer separated from his children because he is an expatriate or because he is posted overseas.

The ideas in more depth

Why the accounting officer’s liability continues

If accountability ended when the officer left, a Permanent Secretary could ignore the rules in his last year, retire and escape the questions. The rule that he can be called to account for his whole tenure means that the cost of a breach is borne by the person who allowed it, not by his successor.

Why commitments are recorded when made

Cash is the last stage of spending. An officer who watches only payments would issue orders until the vote was exhausted on paper, and the suppliers would arrive with invoices that cannot be paid. The vote book prevents this by deducting the commitment when the order is issued. That is why the book has an expenditure side and a liabilities side.

Sources and references

• The Financial Regulations (2009 edition), chapter 1 and regulations 106, 107 and 201; the Public Procurement Act, 2007.

These points are stated as at 5 November 2026.

Worked examples

1. Calculate.
   2,000 − 1,200 − 250 = ₦550.

1. Calculate. ₦14,100; the cancelled receipt is excluded.

1. Calculate.
   400; 400 ÷ 11,000 = 3.6%.

How to answer in the exam

• Define the officer, then list the functions in the number requested.
• For books, give the number of columns and the purpose.
• For a vote book, deduct a commitment when the order is issued.
• Keep the officers apart: the collector does not spend; the imprest holder does not keep the treasury book.

Common mistakes in the exam

• Saying that the accounting officer is the Accountant-General.
• Allowing the revenue collector to pay expenses from collections.
• Counting a cancelled receipt as revenue.
• Reducing the vote book balance only when the supplier is paid.
• Mixing up the 16 columns of the treasury cash book and the 15 columns of the vote book.
• Calling below-the-line items budgeted items.

Quick revision

• Accounting officer: Permanent Secretary; liability continues after leaving; personal liability under the Public Procurement Act.
• Treasury cash book: 16 columns, balanced daily. Vote book: 15 columns; commitments when ordered.
• Revenue collector: intact remittance; imprest holder: small disbursements.

Practice questions

These are original questions written in the style of the Institute’s exams. Try each one before you open the answer. Section A is a recall check, because the paper itself is written.

Recall check: multiple choice

Section B style: written questions

A further written question

Model answers

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