ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 156, December 12, 1955

CREATING A NATIONAL ACCOUNTING COMMITTEE

WHEREAS, the records of our national agencies reflect large balances of accounts receivable and accounts payable and unliquidated cash advances;

WHEREAS, a substantial portion of the total receivables and payables and cash advances is made up of prior-year items that are being liquidated very slowly or not at all;

WHEREAS, major obligations incurred in prior years by some of our national agencies are not paid and are not reflected in the books of account;

WHEREAS, the amount of cash funds that will be available from current collections of accounts receivable and cash advances, or that will be required for payment of obligations cannot be ascertained from our records; and

WHEREAS, this lack of vital financial information is handicapping our fiscal planning of government programs;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RAMON MAGSAYSAY, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby create a NATIONAL ACCOUNTING COMMITTEE whose function shall be to examine or review the accounts receivable and accounts payable and unliquidated cash advances of the national bureaus, offices or agencies and to initiate or take immediate steps to liquidate and adjust these accounts to their proper balances. The Committee shall be composed of the following:

The Commissioner of the Budget ........................................................	Chairman
The Secretary of Finance ....................................................................	Member
The Auditor General ...........................................................................	Member

The Committee is hereby authorized to call upon any department, bureau, office, agency or instrumentality of the government, or any official or employee thereof, including provincial, city and municipal treasurers and provincial and city auditors, for such assistance as it may need in the performance of its functions and accomplishment of its mission.

The Committee may create such committees, working groups or task forces as it may deem necessary to carry out the purpose of this Order or to accomplish its objectives. Personnel for any such committees or groups may be drawn from the personnel of existing government agencies. The Committee shall appoint a Secretary to coordinate or supervise the committees or working groups.

The Committee shall render a report of its activities and accomplishments to the President.

Nothing in this Order shall be construed to limit or reduce the authority or responsibility of any Government official or employee for maintaining accurate accounting records.

This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 12th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifty-five, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the tenth.

(Sgd.) RAMON MAGSAYSAY

President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) MARIANO YENKO, JR.

Assistant Executive Secretary