Don't allow yourselves to be bullied: CAG to auditors

CAG Shashi Kant Sharma today said auditors should neither allow themselves to be bullied by entities they are scrutinising nor take their non-cooperation lying down.
While inaugurating the UN Audit Training Programme here, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India advised the audit fraternity to "maintain professional scepticism" and strike a fine balance; be open-minded and carefully consider the views of the management.
According to a release, he further said "that maintaining amicable relationship with the audited entity does not mean that you should allow yourself to be bullied by the audited entity or do nothing when audited entity is non-cooperative".

Stating that there have been instances of management being slow or unresponsive to audit, he said such instances if necessary should be brought to the notice of the top management of the audited entity and to the Director of External Audit in a professional manner.
Sharma said there is a significant difference between the audit environment in India and in the international institutions and advised to use appropriate language while drafting the management letters.
He emphasised that CAG's primary mandate is to carry out audits in the country and report the findings to the Parliament/State Legislatures.

"I want you to plan your national work in such a way that important tasks are completed before you proceed on international audit engagements. National audit cannot be compromised at the expense of international audits," he said.

Further, Sharma said that among all the Supreme Audit Institutions in the world, India has the largest portfolio of audit assignments and this has been possible due to the reputation that the CAG Institution of India has built over decades as a highly professional organisation.
He expressed happiness that "our first report", after joining the UN Board of Auditors, on UN Peace Keeping Organisations as been "highly appreciated" by the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions of the UN.
Presently, the CAG is the external auditors of United Nations, World Food Programme, International Organisation for Migration, World Intellectual Property Organisation, International Atomic Energy Agency and United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

About 130 officers of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department are to be trained during this month in three phases before taking up Audit of the United Nations and its organisations.
A batch of 43 officers, from the level Assistant Audit Officer (AAO) to Principal Accountant General (PAG), is attending the five-day training programme here. Two other batches will be trained at Jaipur from July 20-24 and from July 27-31, 2015.