CAG is the government department that audits the union and state government departments. In August 2020, Shri Murmu was appointed comptroller and auditor general of India. He has experience in various departments of the Indian government. He was the first lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir. He worked as the secretary in the Department of Expenditure. He also worked as a special and additional secretary in the Department of Revenue and Financial Services. He also worked as a joint secretary in the Expenditure department. He is a postgraduate in political science. He studied at the Utkal University. He is an MBA graduate from the University of Birmingham. He is an IAS from the Gujarat cadre of the 1985 batch.
In Rajkot district, Gujarat he inaugurated the International Centre for Audit of Local Governance. The centre is for training the auditors in government departments. The auditors working in the rural and urban departments gain technical knowledge, domain knowledge, and audit planning skills through this program. The training program is also for local bodies from foreign countries. The blog intrigues the readers with information on the merits of iCAL functions, different types of audits in government departments and the need to train regional auditors in government departments.
Merits of iCAL functions:
Around the world, Government auditors working in various nations are framing a global framework for auditing municipal and regional bodies. The government departments are responsible for making the welfare schemes of the government successful. The performance of the government departments shows the success of the government and the happiness of the common man in India. Girish Chandra Murmu the auditor general of CAG said that all the countries around the world are creating a common framework for the audit of the government departments to gauge the performance.
A large part of the tax and revenue collected by the government goes to local bodies. The local bodies are responsible for implementing the state and central-level schemes of the Indian government. The federal auditor in India has proposals to open an office in each district. iCAI is the association of auditors, administrators, and policymakers working under the local government. The chief auditor Murmu said that the focused audit capacity would improve the financial performance, data reporting quality and service delivery in the government departments.
The CAG department monitors the fund flow statement and interprets the government expenditure. The expenditure is drawn from the treasury of the state department or it may be from the consolidated fund. The revenue collected by the PRIs in the form of fees, fines, rates, rents, and taxes is beyond the records of the state and central audit system. In association with ICAI, the CAG introduced a certification course for working as a local panchayat body accountant and auditor. Recently, CAG announced 232 candidates after the main examination as the regional body auditors. The 2023 year is the 30th anniversary of the amendment to the Indian constitution. The local government requires the administrative, technical and financial skills of the young professionals from India. After independence, the Indian democracy is supposed to march towards decentralisation. The association of CAG, iCAL and ICAI strengthen democracy and local governance.
Different types of audits in government departments:
The government activities are gauged in terms of finance, performance and compliance. Government audits enhance efficiency, transparency, and accountability. The following points envisage the different types of audits conducted by government auditors.
Financial audit:
Financial audits check the financial transactions, financial statements, assets and liabilities, cash flow statements, funds flow statements and accounting standards. The financial audits communicate the financial health and consistency of the business or department. The auditors check the documents, and transactions, and analyse the financial practices of the government entity. Financial audits are the most sought-after recognised government audits.
Performance audit:
The goal of a performance audit is to check the objectives, resource allocation, and applicable laws to the government schemes. To understand the performance, the auditors check the processes, and outcomes of the government programs. The performance audit helps the auditors to understand the areas of improvement and success rate of the government programs. The performance audit educates the government about the right way to do government spending. The government audits also frame beneficial plans for the public.
Systems audit:
In government audits, IT infrastructure brings security and control. Data integrity, confidentiality and availability are the crucial parts of IT audits. Auditors check the policies, data management, procedures, access control points, and disaster recovery in the IT audit. The government department deals with sensitive personal data, therefore it is essential to protect the IT system in the government departments from data breaches and cyber security issues.
Compliance audit:
The audits in private and public companies are focused on compliance and tax calculation. In government departments, compliance audits focus on the legal part of the operations. The compliance audit examines the procurement regulations, reporting obligations and tax laws. Government audits assure the investors, stakeholders, taxpayers and citizens of India. Audit findings help make the right decision and build trust in public fund management. Compliance audits are conducted to find the accuracy of government schemes and operations with regulations, laws, agreements, and contracts. The government schemes, operations and financial system should operate within the regulatory and legal boundaries. Compliance audits increase transparency and better governance measures.
Final Words:
Auditors are the detectives working to bring potential information and growth to the companies and government departments. Auditors stick to professional standards and use specialised knowledge to find mistakes and growth strategies. Educating government auditors and creating a framework for government audits improves the quality of government schemes, helps poor people and increases revenue to the government.