Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has urged the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) to develop new skills and mechanism for auditing major investment projects executed through the public private partnership (PPP) mode.
“Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are becoming increasingly common... Audit needs new skills to evaluate these complex arrangements. I hope all of you are alive to these new challenges,” Singh said in his valedictory address at the 24th conference of accountants general, organised by the CAG.
The prime minister said the PPP model is being used for development of important sectors in key infrastructure areas such as power, transport, urban infrastructure, tourism and railways.
“Liberalisation and globalisation have brought forth new issues that public auditors must address,” he said.
“A public auditor cannot be like the statutory auditor of a company, merely certifying the financial statements of an entity. His or her role should also not be restricted to testing the regularity of transactions against the relevant rules.
“A public auditor’s focus ultimately has to be on good governance and audit processes need to be oriented towards this wider governance perspective,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“A public auditor’s focus ultimately has to be on good governance and audit processes need to be oriented towards this wider governance perspective,” he said.
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