At CAG conference today, all eyes on Kharge's speech amid Rafale row

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is scheduled to address the conference on the first day in his capacity as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament

About 200 accountants general from across the country will participate in a two-day conference of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) from Wednesday to deliberate upon ‘accounting in a digital environment’. President Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate the once-in-two-years forum, to be addressed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and CAG Rajiv Mehrishi. However, the speech of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is set to be followed keenly.  

Kharge is scheduled to address the meet on the first day in his capacity as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament. Last week, the Congress party had approached the CAG to conduct a forensic audit in the Rafale fighter jet deal. A party delegation had met CAG Rajiv Mehrishi on October 4 and again on September 19 and the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) on September 24, demanding a probe into the deal.

While Mahajan and Kharge will address the conference on Day One, Finance Minister Jaitley will address it on the concluding day. According to a statement from the CAG, the overarching theme for the two-day conference is ‘auditing and accounting in a digital era’. Accountants General will deliberate on four sessions on audit planning, audit execution, audit reporting and accounting in a digital environment. “The recommendations emerging out of these sessions will be presented to the full assembly, chaired by the CAG with all the deputy CAGs and additional CAGs present,” the statement said.

The 29th edition of the conference is an effort by the CAG to keep pace with the dynamic nature of public policy and audit and accounting practices. “A regular internal and external consultative process facilitates this effort to adapt and upgrade professional practices and methods of functioning,” the CAG statement said.

The accountants general conference is a prime platform where the entire top-level management of the CAG organisation come together once in two years to review, discuss and recommend the direction in which the Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IA&AD) needs to move in order to perform its constitutional mandate effectively, it said. 

The conference is a forum for exchange of ideas, discussing innovations, debating the best international practices, and identifying areas, which require improvements for efficient delivery of public services, the statement said.

The CAG statement observed that there was a growing public awareness and demand for enhanced transparency and accountability in incurring of government expenditure and delivery of basic public services to citizens.

The CAG is a constitutional body mandated to keep a watch on the system of governance in the country, to ensure the best use of taxpayers’ money.

About 200 accountants general posted all over the country, former CAGs of India, members of Audit Advisory Board, members of Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board and senior government officials will attend the conference.