Under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution the DACF is to be calculated at not less than 5% of total national tax revenue. Currently it stands at 7.5% of total national tax revenue.
Total National Tax Revenue can be calculated as:
.                                                                                                (GH¢ million)
Taxes in income and Property                                                  9,238.30
Taxes on Domestic Goods and Services                                  7,061.70
International Trade Taxes                                                           4,051.10
Other taxes                                                                                   161.40
Total National Tax Revenue =                                                 20,512.50

7.5% DACF can be calculated as follows:
7.5% X (GH¢ million 20, 512.50 ) = GH¢ Million 1,538.44

Total Common fund for 2015 is GH¢ Million 1,538.44

Amount of Common fund Per MMDAs for the 2015 fiscal year.
GH¢ Million 1,538.44/216 MMDAs  = GH¢ Million 7.1224 per MMDA

Qualitative characteristics are the attributes that make the information provided in financial statements useful to users. They are applicable to financial statements, regardless of the basis of accounting used to prepare the financial statements. The four principal qualitative characteristics are understandability, relevance, faithful representation and comparability.

• Understandability
  Information is understandable when users might reasonably be expected to comprehend its meaning. For this purpose, users are assumed to have a reasonable knowledge of the entity’s activities and the environment in which it operates, and to be willing to study the information .Information about complex matters should not be too difficult for certain users to understand.
• Relevance
  Information is relevant to users if it can be used to assist in evaluating past, present or future events or in confirming, or correcting, past evaluations. In order to be relevant, information must also be timely.
• Materiality
  The relevance of information is affected by its nature and materiality. Information is material if its omission or misstatement could influence the decisions of users or assessments made on the basis of the financial statement. Materiality depends on the nature or size of the item or error judged in the particular circumstances of its omission or misstatement. Thus, materiality provides a threshold or cut-off point rather than being a primary qualitative characteristic which information must have if it is to be useful.
• Faithful Representation
  For information to represent faithfully transactions and other events, it should be presented in accordance with the substance of the transaction and other events, and not merely their legal form.
• Substance Over Form
  If information is to represent faithfully the transactions and other events that it purports to represent, it is necessary that they are accounted for and presented in accordance with their substance and economic reality and not merely their legal form. The substance of transaction or other events is not always consistent with their legal form.
• Neutrality
  Information is neutral if it is free from bias. Financial statements are not neutral if the information they contain has been selected or presented in a manner designed to influence the making of a decision or judgment in order to achieve a predetermined result or outcome.
• Prudence
  Prudence is the inclusion of a degree of caution in the exercise of the judgments needed in making the estimates required under conditions of uncertainty, such that assets or revenue are not overstated and liabilities or expenses are not understated.
• Completeness
  The information in financial statements should be complete within the bounds of materiality and cost.
• Comparability
  Information in financial statements is comparable when users are able to identify similarities and differences between that information and information in other reports. Comparability applies to the: Comparison of financial statements of different entities; and Comparison of the financial statements of the same entity over periods of time. An important implication of the characteristic of comparability is that users need to be informed of the policies employed in the preparation of financial statements, changes to those policies and the effects of those changes.

• Set up of business process, such as CoA, IFMIS and ICT.
• Change management – whether the changes are being driven from the top down, or bottom up. For example, changes driven by the top level of government may be mandatory for all entities within that government and may have fixed time frames;
• The current basis of accounting used by the entity, the capability of existing information systems, and the completeness and accuracy of existing information particularly in relation to assets and liabilities;
• Misconception between Management personnel concerning the impact of change to the budgeting basis;
• The level of political commitment to the adoption of accrual accounting and the system of government and the political environment; and
• The capacity and skills of the staff and organizations responsible for implementation of the changes.

• Value for money. It states that the project should be cheaper when executed by PPP than when executed from the public entity. In this case, the private will provide all the financing for the project and therefore Ministry would not spend any money on the project. Thus value for money is ensured in the proposal.
• Risk allocation. The risk associated with PPP project should be shared by the public entity and the private entity, or best the public entity should transfer the risk to the private sector. In the case, the Ministry proposes to immune the private sector of risk associated with the project and this is contrary to the guiding principles. The risk identified should be share or transferred to the private sector.
• Ability to pay. Affordability of the service is paramount in PPP considerations. Existing Library services are free throughout the country and introducing PPP will mean paying GH¢20 per week per user. This is likely to make the services unaffordable. On count of ability to pay the project is likely to fall flat.
• Local content and technology transfer. The project proposes the use of local materials and skills which met the requirement of the PPP guiding policy.
• Environment, climate and social safeguards. The project is environmentally friendly and therefore the project meets this requirement of the guiding policy.
• Safeguard of public interest and consumer rights. The project seeks to benefit the entire customers.

• Financial risk is associated with the project because the private sector proposes to borrow externally with the support of government guarantee. This may give rise to exchange rate risk, default risk and interest rate risk and all these risk should be appropriate allocated in the PPP contract, if the project is to be embarked upon.
• Demand risk. The risk that the project will be executive and the patronage will be lower than anticipated leading to revenue fall to the private sector. Allocation of demand risk is necessary.
• Availability risk is risk associated with the inability of the private sector to deliver the project at the agreed time.
• Construction risk is the risk associated with strikes, physical collapse of structure, accidence on the project etc.

• Rule of law. Corporate governance is based on rule of law. The law establishing GAA should be respected at all times. The CEO has undermined the law establishing the authority and decided to run the authority in his own way. This claim that good outcome is achieved through his innovation and initiatives does not weaken the argument that the existing law must be observed.
• Ineffective board. Effective boards are critical in corporate governance. However, the board of GAA seem to be ineffective. Firstly, the board fails to meet regularly and secondly, the independence of the board is also under threat as the CEO seems to control and dominate the board. This renders the board weak and ineffective.
• Conflict of interest. Avoidance of conflict of interest is very important in good corporate governance. There is clear evidence of conflict of interest in GAA. The vendors of outsourced services are close friends and relatives of the CEO which places him in a conflict of interest situation. Further, some of the services were outsourced to companies in which the chairman of the board has significant interest.
• Lack of internal and external scrutiny. Good corporate governance allows for scrutiny and review of its activities to achieve value for money. However, internal audit function in GAA is neglected and audit committee is completely absent resulting in weak scrutiny and review of the entity’s operations.
• Lack of transparency. Accountability and transparency are very important principles of corporate governance. However, GAA fails to provide much public information on the operation of the Authority with the excuse that it wants to operate on the blind side of the public and the media. GAA is a public entity and therefore public accountability and transparency is required.

• Keep themselves abreast with the organization’s business.
• Exercise fiduciary duty of care not to put themselves in a position where there is a potential conflict between their own personal interest and their duty to the organization.
• Ensure critical review of all proposals and other issues placed before the Board/Council.
• Prepare for Board/Council meetings, study working papers and be prepared to ask pertinent questions at meetings.
• Periodically update themselves on corporate governance.
• Have the general knowledge, skills and experience that may reasonably be expected of a Board/Council member carrying out the specific duties in relation to the organization.
• Undertake to act for the organization in a relationship of trust and confidence.
• Ensure that, decisions are made methodically and promptly and that the reasons for such decisions are recorded and when necessary, seek expert advice

• Comparability since no comparable results were provided in the financial statement. The usefulness would have been enhanced if the budget information was presented alongside the respective actual or previous year’s corresponding figures used.
• Timeliness is also absent since the financial statement relates to 2014 while the accounts are prepared in 2016. The time affect the value of information and the laws of Ghana requires that the accounts should be prepared and submitted not later than six months into 2015.
• Understandability. For the financial statement to be understandable it should contain notes including the disclosure of accounting policies. However, the financial statement prepared does not contain any notes or disclosure in accounting policies therefore it lacks understandability.

• Is an entity with the power to contract in its own name.
• Has been assigned the financial and operational authority to carry on a business.
• Sells goods and services, in the normal course of its business, to other entities at a profit or full cost recovery.
• Is not reliant on continuing government funding to be a going concern (other than purchases of outputs at arm’s length), and
• Is controlled by a public sector entity.

• Management of the hospital need to seek additional finances in January or review its payment plan in January to address the cash deficit that is revealed in the cash forecast.
• Cash surplus forecast for February and March could be invested in short term securities.

I disagree with the assertion that every procurement entity has the liberty to choose the method of procurement it wishes on the grounds that:

• The procurement law has mandated five methods of procurement to be used by procurement entities in the procurement of goods, services and works. The methods include competitive tendering, two stage tendering, restricted tendering, single sourcing and request for quotations.
• The procurement law also recommended the use of competitive tendering in all public procurement unless otherwise.
• Where competitive tendering is not feasible, then the entity should make a choice of the other methods based on certain conditions provided for in the law.

I therefore disagree with the assertion of the head of procurement entity that every procurement entity has the liberty to choose the method of procurement it wishes. The choice of method should meet the conditions indicated by the procurement law.

• Where there exist many suppliers or contractors that could provide goods, services and works.
• Where enough time exist to carry out the procurement, then urgency could not be used as a reason.
• Where the procurement would not compromise national security.