Letter to BS: CAG meet to focus on accounting in the digital era

This refers to Archis Mohan’s report “CAG meet to focus on accounting in the digital era” (October 10). In addition to substantial resources, considerable efforts on the part of hundreds of officers and staff go into organising conferences like the once-in-two-years Attorney General’s meet now being held in Delhi. Celebrity invitees make speeches that express concerns and anxieties, and make intelligent suggestions. The structured sessions deliberate and come up with several findings and recommendations for the improvement of the functioning of the system. How far these suggestions and recommendations are taken seriously by the government and political leadership responsible for providing legislative support is a matter of opinion.

Till the opening of the economy, in India, the governments and organisations like the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and public sector undertakings (PSUs) including banks had access to a talent pool in which candidates looked for job security with a long-term perspective and anything above starvation wages was accepted as compensation by prospective employees. The position has changed now and these organisations are now dependent on candidates not needed in the elite private sector.  

The CAG, since the Vinod Rai days, and the RBI during the current decade have taken several initiatives for in-house skill development. But with the lines between different streams of regulatory norms, audit, and inspection getting blurred, it is imperative that all professionals speak the same language forgetting even the public sector-private sector divide. As the government and the public sector organisations are not likely to get a level playing field and compensation packages comparable with the private sector anytime soon, talent exchange is a possible option. The suggestion is, consider a floating exchange of executives at all levels up to a certain percentage, among organisations willing to participate in the exchange programme. For example: An officer from the CAG can work with the RBI as one from the RBI works with the CAG for a year or two.

M G Warrier, Mumbai
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