Global audit framework for local bodies in the works: CAG

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

apex auditors of various nations, including India, are firming up an international framework for auditing regional and municipal bodies to gauge the performance of such grass-root level institutions, comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India Girish Chandra Murmu said on Wednesday.

India is planning to host a conference of the supreme audit institutions (SAIs) of Asia in September where a preliminary draft framework for such auditing standards could be deliberated on, Murmu said on the side lines of an event. As many as 262,000 local bodies exist in rural India alone, he said. Local bodies directly get a 4.2% of the Union government’s total divisible tax pool.

A global framework assumes significance, as these local institutions play a crucial role in the implementation of various welfare programmes and other projects of both the Union and state governments in every nook and cranny of the nation. Better audit standards will not just result in greater transparency but also effective last-mile delivery of various schemes.

The CAG was speaking on the first day of a three-day International Conference on Strengthening of Grassroots Democracy in the national capital, organised by India for the first time. The conference was attended by the senior functionaries of the SAIs of various nations.
Once the framework is finalised, every member of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions can adopt it. The global body currently has 195 members, five associate members and two affiliate ones.