The document outlines the duties and responsibilities of a Principal Accounting Officer (PAO) in Balochistan, Pakistan. It states that the administrative secretary of a department is designated as the PAO. As PAO, the secretary is responsible for budget preparation and execution, expenditure control, ensuring funds are spent as allocated and for the intended purposes, accounting for receipts, and being accountable to the Public Accounts Committee. The PAO must also ensure compliance with relevant financial rules and regulations.

1. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
OF PRINCIPALACCOUNTING
OFFICER
J U D I C I A L O F F I C E R S ,
J U D I C I A L A C A D E M Y,
QUETTA
MAHFOOZ ALI KHAN

2. The Administrative Secretary is designated as
Head Of Department in Rules of Business, 1976.
He is guided by aforesaid rules for discharge of
his duties. In case of Judiciary, the Registrar is
PAO.
The Secretariat Instructions specify the
instruments available to him for doing his job,
efficiently and effectively

3. POLICY
FORMULATION
COORDINATION
RESPONSIBLE
TO PAC, AS
PAO.
ADVISOR
SECRETARY

4. SECRETARY AS PRINCIPALACCTT: OFFICER
The Revised System of Financial Control and
Budgeting, as contained in Para 2.35 of
DDO’s handbook, Secretary of the
administrative department has been declared
as Principal Accounts Officer for the
purpose of Control over Expenditure and
Budgeting of that Administrative
Department

5. RULES GOVERNING FUNCTIONS OF PAO
Balochistan Delegation of Powers under Financial
Rules and the powers of Re-appropriation Rule, 2008,
First Schedule delegate Financial powers to the Secretary
of an Administrative Department for discharge of his
financial duties as PAO.
For guidance about relevant financial rules, he can
seek help from FRs, GFR, Treasury Rule and DDOs
handbook, which contains all relevant financial rules
required for good financial discipline in an administrative
department

6. AREA OF PUBLIC FINANCE
Public Finance Management covers:-
 Preparation of annual budget
 Drawl of money and its timely accounting ( 4-8)
 Receipt and disbursal of government money
 Receipt and upkeep of stores
 Reconciliation of income and expenditure
 Control over expenditure ( rules 11-17)
 Negotiating and executing contracts. (GFR 18-19)
System of financial
control, DDO’s handbook

7. MAJOR FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF PAO
The Administrative Secretary (PAO) has
following financial duties and responsibilities:-
Preparation and execution of budget.
Preparation of Development and Current
Budget.(Chapter II, para 2.47, DDO handbook)
Coordination
Execution & Monitoring
Expenditure control and financial discipline.
Preparation for PAC.( para 2.74)

8. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF PAO
PAO has dual responsibilities, he is responsible for
financial discipline and also, as Administrative head,
he has certain Administrative functions to perform.
Financial responsibilities are Specific & General
My discussion would be in two parts:
Part one Discusses Financial
Responsibilities; and
Part two Highlights Administrative
Responsibilities.

9. RESPONSIBILITIES OF PAO
The Principal Accounting Officer is responsible for
ensuring:-
 that the funds allotted to his/her ministry, its attached
Departments or Subordinate Offices are spent for the
purpose for which those are allocated;
 that the funds are spent in accordance with the powers
delegated to him under the relevant rules and
regulations;
 all preliminaries of budgeting and expenditures are duly
observed, including reconciliation before preferring to
an accounting office

10. RESPONSIBILITIES OF PAO
 that the expenditure is incurred with due regard to high
standards of financial propriety;
 to ensure that in the matter of receipts pertaining to his
ministry/ department adequate machinery exists for
collection and bringing to account of all receipts; and
 that he will be accountable to Public Accounts
Committee for proper Accounting, Control and
utilizations of allocations to his ministry and all affiliate
organizations

11. SPECIFIC DUTIES OF PAO
The PAO & Drawing Officer are responsible for seeing
that:-
i. the rules regarding preparation of bills are observed;
ii. the money is either required for immediate
disbursement or has already been disbursed from the
permanent advance;
iii. the expenditure is within available appropriation

12. SPECIFIC DUTIES OF PAO
iii) All steps have been taken with a view to
obtaining an additional appropriation if the
original appropriation has either been
exceeded, or is likely to exceed.
iv) In the case of contract contingencies the
proposed expenditure does not cause any
excess over the contract grant. [FTR 295]

13. GENERAL DUTIES
General duties include:
Maintenance of service record, like service books, leave accounts
of all B:1-4 employees working in his/her department.
GPF of all B:1-4 employees is to be maintained departmentally
and it is the duty of PAO, through DDO to maintain this accounts.
Personal files and updated Evaluation reports maintenance is also
the duty of PAO.
Internal financial control mechanism is also responsibility of PAO
under his/her jurisdiction.