Audit reports gained immense significance by inducing action by executive: CAG Murmu

Canberra [Australia], April 20 : Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India Girish Chandra Murmu has expressed that audit reports have assumed immense importance as they induced action from the executive by way of design improvements, mid-course corrections, strengthening systems and even review of certain policies.

Delivering a keynote speech on "Audit impact - the Indian perspective" at IMPACT 2023 in Canberra, Girish Chandra Murmu said that all business processes in Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) were now fully digitized, and the entire audit cycle was being operated through the OIOS (One IA&AD One System), an end-to-end audit process and knowledge management system for the institution.

He further underlined the role of audit as a catalyst to good governance, promoting accountability, transparency, efficient and effective functioning of orgzations and government.

Murmu also shared a few experiences wherein audit findings had a distinctly visible impact on executive functioning. He underlined that audit focus should be closely aligned with global megatrends and SAIs needed to be geared to not only adapt to new-age technologies and build capacities for seamless integration of the audit process into the new governance structures but also to effectively address the risk and ethical challenges posed by such technologies.

Murmu's keynote speech on "Audit impact - the Indian perspective" highlighted the role of the founding fathers of the Indian constitution who ascribed great importance to the independence of the CAG through Article 148 to 151 of the Indian constitution.

He emphasized the use of technological tools such as machine learning algorithms, data analytics and visualization, Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing technology and unmanned aerial vehicles which had expanded the repertoire of audit techniques.

The overarching themes of IMPACT 2023 are "The Auditor of the Future" with two sub-themes: "technology as a tool" and "technology and the impact on the auditor." The conference also focused on ethics in the delivery of government programs. The conference brought together participants from different countries to discuss the latest developments in audit and explore the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Australian Council of Auditors-General hosted IMPACT 2023, the International Meeting of Performance Audit Critical Thinkers, in Canberra on April 19-20. The conference aimed to explore the exponential rate at which technology was developing and its effect on the future of audits. Girish Chandra Murmu, the CAG of India, was invited as a keynote speaker during the conference.

During the IMPACT 2023 Conference, CAG Murmu, held separate meetings with the Controller and Auditor General of New Zealand, John Ryan and the Auditor-General of Australia Grant Hehir, to explore ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between their respective Audit Institutions.

The discussions focused on IT audit, data analytics, environmental audit, and sustainable development. Murmu expressed his commitment to strengthening cooperation between the Audit Institutions.

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