REFORMS through the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

0. 
   Problem: On its return to democratic governance, Nigeria inherited weak fiscal management systems, including huge external debt, poor project management and wasteful spending.
   
   Reform Actions:
   
• - Adoption of the Accounting Transactions Recording and Reporting (ATRRS) system
  
• - Implementation of the Government Integrated Financial Management Information
  System (GIFMIS)
  
• - Implementation of comprehensive and standardised National Chart of Accounts (NCOA)
  
• - Adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS)
  
• - Adoption of Treasury Single Account (TSA)
  
• - Implementation of E-Payment and E-Remittance of independent revenue
  
• - Budget Reform
  
• - More vibrant Audit regime
  
• - Establishment of Sovereign Wealth Fund
  

Main Achievements:The reforms through the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has turned government overdraft of ₦102 billion in 2011 to credit of ₦86 billion in 2013. Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) provides central control and monitoring of expenditures and receipts, significantly reducing corruption. The reforms also produced improved ratings by international agencies, like Fitch, Standard & Poor, and Moody. Tax collection improved significantly from ₦455 billion in 2000 to ₦4.8 trillion by 2013. Furthermore, the reforms have improved governance as reports are produced timely, thereby installing some level of transparency around financial management. There is open access to financial information than obtained previously. The reforms equally reduced the cost of governance, particularly as the huge amount spent on manual processes has been eliminated. They reduced bureaucracy and red tape, and the delays in processing and payments of government bills have been reduced through e- payment system.

Key Challenges: the Finance (Control and Management) Act enacted in 1958 is well out of date and there is the problem of persistent late passage of the budget, due to a lacunae in the Constitution in failing to outline of roles and timeliness in the budget process. Furthermore, the implementation of the current budget envelope system (in the federal budgetary process) is still widely misunderstood and therefore needs to be made more transparent and efficient. Lastly, the lack of published binding budget calendar coupled with the executive-legislative budget deadlocks remain major causes of delays in the approval of annual budgets, as well as wide variations between budget and actuals. 

Reference:  Public Service Reforms in Nigeria (1999-2014) - A Comprehensive Review

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