The CAG is now making reports ‘in the form of advisories’ to alert organisations on systematic faults and ensure fiscal prudence, says Rajan Panicker, a former deputy accountant general of Kerala.
Also former member of the audit team of the UN (UN Habitat and Union, Kenya), Panicker said here that public sector auditing in India had undergone ‘terrific advancements’ recent years.
EXTENSIVE SCRUTINY
He said this while announcing the conduct of a two-day national workshop on ‘public sector auditing in India’ here on July 5 and 6.
Corporate Relations Institute, the training arm of public relations consultants Corporate Relations, is organising the event.
CAG reports were now subjected to extensive public scrutiny. “There is a popular feeling that coverage of audit be extended to all areas where Government money is involved”, Panicker said.
The CAG was also conducting studies on its own and preparing management reports now. But these were not tabled in Parliament but shared only with the government.
FOUR REPORTS
“Four such reports are already out. These are not audit reports in that sense since they are not carried out under Article 151 of the Constitution, which makes it mandatory for tabling them in Parliament.”
Instead, they were at best assessment reports on the working of selected departments and other key projects in the country, Panicker said.
There was also demand to bring all public-private partnerships, panchayati raj institutions, banks, the insurance sector and societies receiving government funds within the ambit of CAG audit.
FINANCIAL DISCIPLINE
All these developments pointed towards essential need for adherence to financial discipline while dealing with public money, Panicker said.
A team of audit professionals comprising former audit and accounts service officers and public auditors will be faculty for the two-day workshop.
Finance and accounts personnel in Central and State Government departments; public sector enterprises; autonomous bodies and other entities auditable by the CAG shall benefit from the workshop.
Registrations could be made at 9961217555 or via email at: corelations@sify.com/ trainingrelations@gmail.com.
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