AGP asks federal, provincial departments to ensure internal accountability

ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) Rana Assad Amin has directed the federal ministries, divisions and provincial departments to ensure internal accountability mechanism for transparency in all the federal and provincial governments departments.

As a first step, the Auditor General has sent advice to all the federal secretaries and provincial chief secretaries to ensure proper maintenance of the record of assets purchased from the government funds because a number of paras raised by audit relate to non-maintenance of record of assets.

According to a spokesman for department of the AGP, letters have been issued to all concerned wherein it has been reminded that format of fixed asset register is provided in the accounting policy and procedure manual issued under new accounting model approved by the president in 2000. “Non maintenance of assets registers indicates weak internal controls and a risk area which will be given special emphasis in future audit assignments,” the spokesman said. It has also been highlighted that Pakistan is gradually moving towards implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) which will entail a transition from cash basis of accounting to accrual basis of accounting as this will not be possible without proper maintenance of assets record.

The federal secretaries and provincial chief secretaries have been requested to issue instructions for proper maintenance of assets record in their offices to improve internal controls and avoid audit observations on the subject.

It is to be mentioned here that few days ago, in order to eliminate unethical practices from his department, Auditor General Rana Assad Amin decided that audit parties going for audit will not receive any favours from the organisations whose audit is being done.

In this regard, letters have been sent to all federal secretaries and provincial chief secretaries with the request to direct their officers dealing with audit parties not to extend any favours to the auditors conducting audit.