CAG wants all accounts of PPP projects Audited
PrintListen to this Article
Observing that there were risks in estimation of revenue streams of projects under public-private partnership mode which might significantly impact the exchequer or consumers, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Monday asked the government to ensure all PPP agreements were subject to comprehensive audit by the apex auditor.
"Appropriate clauses in the PPP agreement may be considered by government to ensure that all PPP agreements with private bodies contain provisions for parliamentary oversight by subjecting the accounts of PPPs to comprehensive audit by CAG," CAG said in a report tabled in Parliament.
"There are risks in estimation of revenue streams of projects under PPP arrangement which may significantly impact the exchequer or users of the services, which is normally the public at large," it said.
CAG pointed towards new arrangements that have developed, particularly in infrastructure sector, whereby substantial public fund and/or assets are used to implement public programmes or economic activity by the government through involvement of private parties on medium to long term basis, which are mostly in the form of public private partnership (PPP) or joint ventures, both in the Centre and states.
"These arrangements are, however, outside the traditional legislative oversight by the Parliament. PPP agreements signed so far also do not provide for comprehensive audit by the CAG," the apex auditor said. (PTI - Business Standard)
Category : Auditing | Comments : 0 | Hits : 694
In a boost to the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), the regulator for auditors and audit firms dealing with large and listed companies, the Supreme Court has upheld an order by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) related to disciplinary action against errant auditors. Last month, the apex court dismissed an appeal filed by chartered accountant Sam Varghese, partner at K Varghese & Co. Varghese was one of the four auditors against whom NFRA had acted, and in...
Hindustan Unilever Ltd. has announced that its cost auditor has been disqualified from continuing amid a conflict of interest. The decision was made after it was discovered that Rasesh Vipin Chokshi, who is a partner at the firm R.A. & Co., was holding shares in the company. According to the Companies Act, 2013, a cost auditor cannot hold any shares in the company for which they're auditing the costs. Following this violation, M/S R.A. & Co. has been asked to vac...
The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Anita Kirdat, a former concurrent auditor of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank, in connection with a multi-crore loan fraud case. Kirdat, 48, a chartered accountant (CA) from Bhandup, who runs a firm, Anita Kirdat and Company, was arrested by the Economic Offence Wing of Mumbai Police in 2019 in the PMC Bank scam. She served as the concurrent auditor of PMC Bank from 2005 to 2019. She was alleged to have been appointed at the behest...
Tighter regulations and lower fees are making the auditing profession challenging, said panelists at an international conference held by the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) here on Tuesday. “The business model of pure audit is under significant pressure. It’s getting tighter and tighter from the point of avoiding conflict,” said Uday Kotak, former managing director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank. Stating that regulators would want the best of talent in the audi...
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Girish Chandra Murmu, on Friday announced the setting up of the Supreme Audit Institution India’s International Centre for Audit of Local Governance (iCAL) in Rajkot, Gujarat. At the conclusion of the three-day international conference on ‘Strengthening of Grass Roots Democracy and Accountability’, Mr. Murmu said local governments played a pivotal role in shaping the lives of citizens. Effective accounting platforms and aud...
Comments