Financial Management training for National Toshaos Council
DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, December 3, 2019
The Ministry of Natural Resources is providing training to boost the financial management skills of the National Toshaos Council (NTC) and indigenous representatives from across the country.
The three-day training programme opened on Tuesday and is being held under the ministry’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility REDD+ Project.
The participants will be engaged in exercises covering topics such as simple bookkeeping, budgeting, working capital, cash flow, and financial wealth.
Opening the workshop Minister of Natural Resources, the Hon. Raphael Trotman noted that the country’s patrimony must be managed with careful analysis and not assumptions about the job.
“We can’t just rely on our instincts and basic knowledge; it is good therefore that workshops like this conducted by experts in financial management can show us how,” Min. Trotman stated.
He noted that even the little things were important.
“Like managing your books, doing depreciation and costing your expenses, ensuring that if you are a profit-making enterprise, you are, in fact, making a profit … and if you are an NGO not into profit, at least you should not be in the red because the money comes, it is precious, it is valuable, it is to be respected because it is a gift,” Trotman cautioned.
Meanwhile, NTC Chairman Nicholas Fredericks said the training would be of great benefit to the council and other community groups to better manage their financial affairs.
The Natural Resources Ministry is ensuring that every agency under its operations and other organisations that work alongside the ministry receives accounting and financial management training. A similar workshop was held a week ago for small loggers and members of the Guyana Forestry Commission.