The Sicilian Region switches to the single treasury system. Schifani and Falcone: “Historical turning point, less bureaucracy and more certainty in the accounts”

John

By John

From January 1, 2024, the Sicilian Region, in the accounting field, will definitively abandon the current cash regime to adopt the economic management system through a single treasury. An adaptation provided for by the national regulations on the matter, already in force in several other Italian regions, which will mark a turning point in terms of simplification for citizens, acceleration of payments and streamlining of accounting procedures for offices. Unicredit will become the treasurer institution of the Region, ensuring the delicate transition between the two regimes. Over the last year, the Budget and Treasury department has managed the transition with the support of Arit (the regional authority for technological innovation), through first of all the implementation of the Score accounting platform (new regional accounting system) to which will be accompanied by the complete adoption of the national PagoPa payments system.

«Since our inauguration – states the president of the Region Renato Schifani – we are working to innovate the regional administrative machine, bringing it up to speed with the needs of Sicilians. The adoption of the Single Treasury system marks a crucial leap towards the digitalisation of processes and the simplification of the PA, in the interest of citizens and businesses, but also to allow our offices to work at their best”.

«For several years – explains the Economic Councilor Marco Falcone – Sicily has operated by extending the old cash system which today, finally, we are sending to the attic together with a whole series of accounting procedures, mostly paper-based, very burdensome for the Accounting Office and for all regional structures. For example, the old-fashioned paper receipts that, until now, our offices had to endorse for each payment will disappear. The single treasury will simplify the management and alignment of income and expenditure, reducing bureaucratic steps and speeding up payments and assessments. Thus, we also follow the dictates of the Court of Auditors, with the aim of reaching the next equalization having already started the optimization of cash flows, in the name of accounting certainty. Thanks – concludes Falcone – to the general accountant Ignazio Tozzo and to the offices in via Notarbartolo, as well as to Arit and to the director Vitalba Vaccaro for the commitment and effort aimed at streamlining administrative procedures for the benefit of offices, citizens and the entire Region” .

In detail, the new single treasury system will allow the Region to directly manage its banking provisions through the Score system, in conjunction with Unicredit. The result is a clear streamlining of payment and collection procedures, to the benefit of both the citizen and the administrative organization of the Accounting Office and the various Departments of the Region. The accounting reconciliation of payments, until now processed and charged individually, is simplified and automated, abolishing receipts and also facilitating the differentiation between the flows of the “Estate” treasury account and the “Health” treasury account. The transition to the Single Treasury and the adoption of the PagoPa system will allow the debtor and payment to be linked immediately.

From January 1st, the operation of the 23 postal current accounts in the Region currently in use for the public will be suspended. Instead, new ordinary treasury accounts will be opened at Unicredit at the following Ibans, which can be used by public bodies operating under the single national treasury regime: Iban Bankit Revenue IT51E 01000 03245 515300305982 – Iban Bankit Sanità IT45H 01000 03245 515300306694. For the types of payments not conveyed through the national PagoPa platform, each regional Department will use specific sub-accounts, the related IBANs of which will soon be available on the Region’s institutional website.

For citizens and businesses, the transition to the Single Treasury will mean greater simplification of payments and less waiting for settlements. The PagoPa system will be available to users, already usable for dozens of other operations with public administrations. Payments will still be possible through post office counters, alongside the options of betting shops and tobacconists, via smartphone and online for taxes such as car tax or taxes on government concessions.