Question & AnswerQ&A (COA Circular No. 2015-001)
The main purpose of COA Circular No. 2015-001 is to prescribe the accounting guidelines and procedures for the reversion to the General Fund of all dormant cash balances, unauthorized accounts, and unnecessary special and trust funds maintained by national government agencies with depository banks.
It implements Executive Order No. 431, dated May 30, 2005, which directs the reversion of all dormant accounts, unnecessary special and trust funds to the General Fund.
National government agencies must analyze accounts including those that are dormant or inactive with Authorized Government Depository Banks (AGDBs), unauthorized accounts without legal or specific authority, accounts maintained with non-AGDBs, special and trust funds without valid claimants or no longer necessary, cash balances intended for liabilities but payments are pending, and other similar accounts.
The Head of the Accounting Unit of the national government agency is responsible for conducting the thorough analysis of the cash accounts.
Agency officials must evaluate all valid claims, prepare disbursement vouchers for valid claims, determine remaining cash balances, confirm balances in inter-agency transfers, reconcile bank statements, evaluate the legal basis for account existence, and prepare necessary disbursement vouchers, journal entry vouchers, and deposits to the National Treasury as instructed.
The agency should credit the Cash in Bank account and debit the related accounts in their books for the remittance to the National Treasury.
The agency must submit audited or verified copies of journal entry vouchers on the remittance along with other supporting documents to the source agency (if any), the Bureau of the Treasury within 30 days after remittance, and to the Commission on Audit as Government Accountancy Sector together with year-end financial reports.
The Head of the Agency must immediately submit a request for write-off of these unreconciled differences or balances to the COA, supported by a list of available records, extent of validation, and a certification explaining why the records cannot be located.
Failure to comply shall subject the concerned officials or employees, including the agency head, to administrative disciplinary action under Section 122(2), Chapter 3, Title III of P.D. No. 1445 and Section 55, Chapter 10, Sub-title I-B, Book V of Executive Order No. 292 (Revised Administrative Code of the Philippines).
The Circular took effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in newspapers of general circulation.