CHAPTER 9
INDIAN AUDIT AND ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT
9.1 At the apex of the Indian Audit and Accounts
Department is the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General which directs
and controls all activities connected with audit accounts and entitlement
functions of the Department. It is thus responsible for development of
organizational objectives and policies, audit standards and system and final
processing and approval of the audit reports. For carrying out these
responsibilities it has been organized on a functional basis and there are
separate divisions dealing with Accounts and Entitlements, Civil Audit, Railway
Audit, Commercial Audit, Revenue Audit, Audit Reports, Administration of
Cadres, Training, Organization and Methods, Inspection of field offices, etc.
These divisions are headed by the Deputy/ Additional Deputy Comptroller and
Auditors General and Directors.
Field Offices
9.2 To begin with, the field offices of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department were all headed by Accountants General who were responsible for the maintenance of accounts as well as audit of the accounts. Over the years, the accounting functions relating to the Union Government were separated from the audit functions. In the States, although the accounting functions still continue with the Accountants General, yet with a view to increase functional specialization and efficiency the cadres of the Accountants General offices were bifurcated from March 1, 1984 into two, one for Audit and the other for the Accounts and Entitlement functions.
തുടക്കത്തിൽ, ഇന്ത്യൻ ഓഡിറ്റ് ആന്റ്‌ അക്കൗണ്ടിംഗ്‌ ഡിപ്പാർട്ട്‌മെന്റിന്റെ ഫീൽഡ് ഓഫീസുകൾ എല്ലാം അക്കൗണ്ടന്റ്സ് ജനറലായിരുന്നു, അക്കൗണ്ടുകളുടെ പരിപാലനത്തിനും അക്കൗണ്ടുകളുടെ ഓഡിറ്റിനും ഉത്തരവാദികളായിരുന്നു. കാലക്രമേണ, കേന്ദ്ര സർക്കാരുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട അക്കൗണ്ടിംഗ്‌ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങൾ ഓഡിറ്റ് പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് വേർതിരിക്കപ്പെട്ടു. സംസ്ഥാനങ്ങളിൽ, അക്കൗണ്ടിംഗ്‌ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങൾ ഇപ്പോഴും അക്കൗണ്ടന്റ്സ് ജനറലുമായി തുടരുകയാണെങ്കിലും, പ്രവർത്തനപരമായ സ്പെഷ്യലൈസേഷനും കാര്യക്ഷമതയും വർദ്ധിപ്പിക്കുന്നതിനായി അക്കൗണ്ടന്റ്സ് ജനറൽ ഓഫീസുകളുടെ കേഡർമാരെ 1984 മാർച്ച് 1 മുതൽ രണ്ടായി വിഭജിച്ചു, ഒന്ന് ഓഡിറ്റിനും മറ്റൊന്ന് ഓഡിറ്റിനും അക്കൗണ്ടുകളും എന്റൈറ്റിൽമെന്റ് പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളും.
9.3 Offices of the Accountants General (Accounts
& Entitlement) are responsible for the following:-
• Payment and Accounting functions under the
departmentalised accounting set-up in respect of officers and staff of Indian
Audit and Accounts Department.
• Monthly compilation of accounts of expenditure
and receipts on the basis of vouchers and schedules received from various
Treasuries and Public Works and Forest Divisions of the State Government.
• Preparation of monthly civil accounts and
yearly Appropriation Accounts and finance Accounts.
• Maintenance of provident fund accounts of
specified categories of employees wherever required.
• Maintenance of accounts of various long term
advances of specified categories of employees wherever required
• Authorization of pension and other retirement
benefits to employees wherever required.
• Authorization of salaries to gazetted
employees in some States.
The basic work is done by clerks and Accountants
supervised by Section Officer/ Supervisors who, in turn, report to Accounts
Officers. The work in each office is divided into convenient groups and each
group is headed by a Deputy Accountant General/ Senior Deputy Accountant
General who reports to the Accountant General.
9.4 Offices of the Accountants General (Audit)
are responsible for the following:
• Audit of expenditure and receipts as well as
the accounts of the State Governments, and audit of Government Companies,
corporations and autonomous bodies.
• Audit of expenditure and receipts of
departments and offices of the Union Government and audit of central autonomous
bodies located in their jurisdiction as allotted to them.
• Preparation of annual Audit Reports on the
Civil, Commercial and Revenue transactions of the States.
• Sending material for inclusion on the annual
Audit Reports relating to the Union Government.
• Assisting the State Public Accounts Committees
and Public Undertakings Committees in their examination of the Audit Reports.
The audit work is primarily carried out by
Auditors, Senior Auditors. Sections Officers and Assistant Audit Officers,
Audit parties supervised by Audit Officers inspect the departmental offices and
other organizations periodically and present inspection reports on their
findings. Some of these parties are used to conduct efficiency cum performance
appraisals of selected projects/ programmes of the State Governments / Union
Government. The audit activities are divided into convenient groups headed by
Deputy Accountants General/ Senior Deputy Accountants General who report to the
Accountant General.
🔲. The
Civil Audit Report of C and AG are scrutinized and follow up action
Recommended
by:
(A)
Committee of public under taking
(B)
Estimate committee of the legislature
(c)
Public Accounts Committee
(D)
Secretaries to Govt headed by Chief Secretary
9.5 Offices of the Directors of Audit (other than Railways) are responsible for audit of the activities of the Union Government (except Railways). There are nine Directorates for this purpose:
1. Directorate of Audit, Central Revenues, New
Delhi.
2. Directorate of Audit, Commerce, Works and
Miscellaneous, New Delhi.
3. Directorate of Audit, Central, Bombay.
4. Directorate of Audit, Central, Calcutta
5. Directorate of Audit, Indian Accounts,
London.
6. Directorate of Audit, Indian Accounts,
Washington.
7. Directorate of Audit, Defence Services, New
Delhi.
8. Directorate of Audit, Ordnance Factories,
Calcutta.
9. Directorate of Audit, Posts & Telegraphs,
New Delhi.
The organizational structure and system of
working are the same as in the case of Accountants General (Audit), the only
difference being that the officers in charge of the various groups are
designated as Deputy Directors and Joint Directors and they report to the
Directors of Audit.
9.6 As far as Offices of the Directors of Audit
(Railways) are concerned, there is a Director of Audit, Railways. For each
Zonal Railway (the Director of Audit, Northern Railway also looks after the
audit of Railway Board); in addition there is a Director of Audit for audit of
the Railway Production Units and the Metro Railway Project, Calcullta. The
organizational structure of these Directorates is the same as of the other
Directorates dealing with audit of the Union government. The Directors of
Railway audit provide material for a single annual Audit Report on the Indian
Railways which is processed by the Additional Deputy Comptroller and Auditor
General (Railways) in the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Commercial Audit Organization
9.7 There is a separate organizational set up
for the audit of Union Public undertakings. At the apex of this organization is
the Chairman, Audit Board and ex-officio Additional Deputy Comptroller and
Auditor General (Commercial). There are a number of offices of Members Audit
Board and ex-officio Directors of Commercial Audit at various places. For the
purpose of audit by these offices, the public undertakings are grouped on
territorial basis. The organization is responsible for:
1 Who is the Head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Departments?
(A) Controller General of Accounts
(B) Comptroller and Auditor General of India
(C) Chairman, Niti Ayog
(D) Finance Minister
2. Which among the following is NOT the responsibility of Commercial Audit Organization of Indian Audit and Accounts Department The Organization is responsible for:
(A) Audit of transactions of Government Companies/Corporation which finds final expression in an Annual Audit Report bringing out selected topics of interest relating to them
(B) In-depth performance appraisals of selected Companies/ Corporations; each such appraisal takes the form of a separate Audit Report
(C) Preparation of a report on systems deficiencies reported by Chartered Accountants on the basis of directions by the Comptroller and Auditor General
(D) Authorizing pay and allowances of officers and staff of public sector undertakings