Virendra Singh Rawat / Lucknow
Even as the Centre is working towards its overarching $5 trillion economy vision, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is bracing up for handling large volumes of accounting data which would be generated as a byproduct.
CAG of India Girish Chandra Murmu said here on Monday the march towards the targetted $5 trillion mark would catalyse the volume of transactions, including money trail at the village panchayat level.
“Since, the ULBs (urban local bodies) and other panchayat bodies are getting money from the finance commission, we will have to ensure that it is being tracked to the last mile,” Murmu told the media at the sidelines of the 6th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) heads of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) meeting in Lucknow.
He said the CAG has undertaken a slew of measures for the audit of accounts related to the local bodies.
Meanwhile, he added modern technology including Artificial Intelligence (AI) was increasingly being used by the global audit firms although he stressed upon the standardisation of data for more meaningful and foolproof financial audit and forensics.
“Unless there is standardisation, the use of AI and machine learning tools would be difficult. Besides, there are other challenges of data authenticity and data theft to be taken care of,” he said
Meanwhile, 30 SAI delegates of India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and SCO Secretariat are participating in the three-day conference, which was inaugurated by UP Governor Anandiben Patel on Feb 6.
In his address, Murmu, the current chairman of the SCO, said SAIs played a vital role in promoting good governance and accountability in government as independent bodies responsible for auditing government finances and operations to ensure public funds are being used efficiently, effectively and in compliance with laws.
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He underlined SAI India is refining audit processes with the implementation of AI. “By analysing data collected from audited entities, AI is being used to identify risk areas and develop a targeted approach to the audit process.”