The Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe Financial Administration department has on Saturday 2 August, conducted a training session to strengthen the financial skills of bursars and accounting clerks from all of its educational institutions.
The training, took place at the Msamba Catholic Centre in Lilongwe, focused on budgeting, reconciliation and the use of accounting software, such as QuickBooks, to better manage institutional finances.
The Financial Administrator of the Archdiocese, Sr. Doris Tembo, expressed her hope that the training will deepen participants understanding of financial management and accountability systems.
“Our main objective is for these accountants and bursars to understand the financial management and accountability systems of the learning institutions and also to practice the best skills in budgeting and reconciliation and some other accounting related things,” she explained.
Fr. Louis Chikanya, who represented the archbishop, described the training as “crucial and timely,” noting that it comes as the archdiocese begins a new phase of development.
He emphasized that the archdiocese needs professional accountants and bursars to efficiently manage institutional finances, especially as it moves forward with new investment activities.
Brian Bayani, a participant from Loyola Secondary School in Kasungu, hopes to acquire the necessary skills to manage school finances and maintain proper records for both the government and the diocese, allowing for easy retrieval if needed.
Sr. Mandela from Maria Goretti Girls Private Secondary School in Lilongwe also highlighted the importance of the training.
She believes the session will help participants learn new software and, in the future, enable them to train others.
The training brought together bursars and accounting clerks from various institutions, including: Ludzi Secondary School from Mchinji, Loyola Secondary School from Kasungu, Guilleme Boys Primary School from Mchinji, St. John’s Private Secondary School from Lilongwe and Bishop Patrick Kalilombe Catholic High School from Nambuma in Dowa.
The facilitators for the training include, Sr. Doris Tembo, Fr. Ryan (her assistant), Fr. Maxwell Kubalasa (an accounting expert), and Mr. Munthali (an expert in accounting software tools who led the session on QuickBooks).