DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68026#0203
ROYAL COMMISSION UPON DECENTRALIZATION.
197
Appendix .
Civil Offices of Account and Audit.
The audit of the public accounts is an important
branch of the Financial Administration, and the Civil
Offices of Account and Audit are directly subordinate
to the Finance Department. The Comptroller and
Auditor General is the highest Audit and Account
Officer in India, and is the authority on all questions
affecting classification and adjustment in the public
accounts. The work of audit and accounting of the
civil revenue and expenditure of the Empire is per-
formed under the supervision of the Comptroller and
Auditor General by seven Accountants General and
two Comptrollers under him, assisted by some 40 officers
of the Finance Department and the necessary staff of
auditors and examiners.
2. The Comptroller General’s Office is permanently
located in Calcutta. An Accountant General is at-
tached to each of the Governments of the seven larger
provinces, and is posted at the permanent head-
quarters of the province ; and there is a Comptroller
for the Central Provinces at Nagpur, and one at
Calcutta for the Government of India administrations
comprising Ajmer, Baluchistan, Indore, Coorg, and
other districts directly under the Government of
India.
3. The principles of audit and classification in the
accounts are practically the same in India as they are
in England ; but, owing to the vastness of territory
and the special system of administration in India by
provincial Governments, the audit arrangements in
India are to a great extent local and decentralized
against a highly centralized system in England. Ac-
cordingly, the Accountants General and Comptrollers,
although representing the Finance Department of the
Government of India, are, as above stated, posted at
the headquarters of the provincial Governments.
4. The most important principle of effective audit
is that the audit power should be independent of the
executive power, and this principle is acted upon as
far as possible in the constitution and organization of
the Accounts Department in India. The Accountant
General, although considered as adviser to the pro-
vincial Government upon the application of financial
rules and orders, upon the correctness and sufficiency
or otherwise of estimates prepared by the Local
Government, and upon the progress of provincial
revenue and expenditure as compared with the
budget estimates, is in immediate subordination to
the Comptroller and Auditor General in all matters
connected with audit and account, and refers to him
all questions bearing on the classification of receipts
■and charges and other matters of account. In matters
relating to the appointment and control of the officers,
gazetted and non-gazetted, working under him and
to the administration of his office generally, the
Accountant General is subject to the direct control
of the Government of India in the Finance Depart-
ment and is not in any way subordinate to the
provincial Government ; and even all correspondence
with the Government of India on matters connected
with the administration of his office pass through the
Comptroller General.
5. The main functions of audit are those of verifica-
tion, and the duty of auditors is to see that any expendi-
ture incurred is on bond fide public service ; that it is
sanctioned by competent authority ; that the expendi-
ture is not greater than the occasion demands ; that
there are formal grants for the expenditure ; and,
lastly, that the expenditure is verified by vouchers as
having been incurred in the manner in which it is
entered in the accounts. As regards receipts, the audit
office is required to watch them as far as possible, and
to see that under every head Government receives all
its dues. In performing these duties, the Accountants
General and Comptrollers work as officers of the
Comptroller and Auditor General and work indepen-
dently of the executive Government, and they are
guided and bound in their work by a minute and
exhaustive code of regulations. Whenever an Ac-
countant General is of opinion that any proceeding
of a provincial Government transgresses any pre-
scribed financial rule or order, it is his duty to advise
the Local Government accordingly; and the Local
Government, if it does not accept the view of the
Audit Officer, is required to refer the question to the
Supreme Government. Again, if an Audit Officer
considers that any expenditure sanctioned by the
Government of India requires the sanction of the
Secretary of State, he should place it under objection
and submit a report with a statement of reasons to the
Government of India in the Finance Department.
The Government of India reports all such objections
to the Secretary of State for information if the objec-
tion is over-ruled, or for the required sanction if it is
not over-ruled. Thus, both by constitution and by
departmental regulations, the Audit Department is
allowed a full measure of independence in the discharge
of its legitimate functions.
6. The district treasury is the unit of the financial
system in India, and the accounts of the district
treasury form the basis of the Finance and Revenue
Accounts of the Government of India presented to
Parliament. The dues of Government are all lodged
in the district treasury, and the funds for the services
are supplied from it. In matters of accounts of
receipts and disbursements, and the management of
the cash balances, the Revenue Officers in charge
of district treasuries are wholly under the orders of
the Civil Accountant General. The ordinary routine
of the audit and account work of the Accountant
General is as follows :—
(a) Officers in charge of district treasuries furnish
the Accountant General after the close of
each month with cash accounts embracing
all the receipts and disbursements in the
treasury during the month, with vouchers
and schedules, and with statements of cash
balances at the end of the month ;
(Z>) the accounts are audited in detail in the office
of the Accountant General in accordance with
prescribed regulations, except as regards
monetary transactions with non-civil depart-
ments, such as Military, Public Works, etc.,
having separate Audit and Account Officers
of their own, and the necessary record of
audit is made in prescribed registers ;
(c) a balanced account of the financial trans-
actions of the whole district is then pre-
pared in which the audit figures are classi-
fied in detail under prescribed heads of
account ;
(d) when the accounts of all the districts in the
, province have been compiled in the above
manner, a consolidated account for the whole
province is prepared in detail of the heads of
account (including heads showing in lump the
transactions with non-civil departments) and
recorded in the office of the Accountant
General ;
(«) an abstract of the monthly account for the
province is submitted to the Comptroller
General, and copies of the consolidated ac-
counts for the eight months ending November
and for the whole year, are also submitted to
him ;
(/) to enable ithe Comptroller General to watch
the work of the Accountant General’s Office,
a monthly “ State of Audit and Account
work ” is sent, giving in a tabular form the
dates of completion of all the prescribed ac-
counts and returns ;
(ff) a half-yearly report on arrears of work in
each Accountant General’s Office is also fur-
nished to the Comptroller and Auditor
General ;
(7t) the objections raised on audit are embodied
in registers prescribed for the purpose ; the
balances on these registers are carefully re-
viewed by the Accountant General, and an
annual report is made to the Comptroller
General on the progress of clearance of the
balances under objection ;
(«) an annual report is made to the Local Govern-
ment bringing to notice delays and other
irregularities on the part of Treasury Officers
in complying with the requirements of the
Audit Department;
197
Appendix .
Civil Offices of Account and Audit.
The audit of the public accounts is an important
branch of the Financial Administration, and the Civil
Offices of Account and Audit are directly subordinate
to the Finance Department. The Comptroller and
Auditor General is the highest Audit and Account
Officer in India, and is the authority on all questions
affecting classification and adjustment in the public
accounts. The work of audit and accounting of the
civil revenue and expenditure of the Empire is per-
formed under the supervision of the Comptroller and
Auditor General by seven Accountants General and
two Comptrollers under him, assisted by some 40 officers
of the Finance Department and the necessary staff of
auditors and examiners.
2. The Comptroller General’s Office is permanently
located in Calcutta. An Accountant General is at-
tached to each of the Governments of the seven larger
provinces, and is posted at the permanent head-
quarters of the province ; and there is a Comptroller
for the Central Provinces at Nagpur, and one at
Calcutta for the Government of India administrations
comprising Ajmer, Baluchistan, Indore, Coorg, and
other districts directly under the Government of
India.
3. The principles of audit and classification in the
accounts are practically the same in India as they are
in England ; but, owing to the vastness of territory
and the special system of administration in India by
provincial Governments, the audit arrangements in
India are to a great extent local and decentralized
against a highly centralized system in England. Ac-
cordingly, the Accountants General and Comptrollers,
although representing the Finance Department of the
Government of India, are, as above stated, posted at
the headquarters of the provincial Governments.
4. The most important principle of effective audit
is that the audit power should be independent of the
executive power, and this principle is acted upon as
far as possible in the constitution and organization of
the Accounts Department in India. The Accountant
General, although considered as adviser to the pro-
vincial Government upon the application of financial
rules and orders, upon the correctness and sufficiency
or otherwise of estimates prepared by the Local
Government, and upon the progress of provincial
revenue and expenditure as compared with the
budget estimates, is in immediate subordination to
the Comptroller and Auditor General in all matters
connected with audit and account, and refers to him
all questions bearing on the classification of receipts
■and charges and other matters of account. In matters
relating to the appointment and control of the officers,
gazetted and non-gazetted, working under him and
to the administration of his office generally, the
Accountant General is subject to the direct control
of the Government of India in the Finance Depart-
ment and is not in any way subordinate to the
provincial Government ; and even all correspondence
with the Government of India on matters connected
with the administration of his office pass through the
Comptroller General.
5. The main functions of audit are those of verifica-
tion, and the duty of auditors is to see that any expendi-
ture incurred is on bond fide public service ; that it is
sanctioned by competent authority ; that the expendi-
ture is not greater than the occasion demands ; that
there are formal grants for the expenditure ; and,
lastly, that the expenditure is verified by vouchers as
having been incurred in the manner in which it is
entered in the accounts. As regards receipts, the audit
office is required to watch them as far as possible, and
to see that under every head Government receives all
its dues. In performing these duties, the Accountants
General and Comptrollers work as officers of the
Comptroller and Auditor General and work indepen-
dently of the executive Government, and they are
guided and bound in their work by a minute and
exhaustive code of regulations. Whenever an Ac-
countant General is of opinion that any proceeding
of a provincial Government transgresses any pre-
scribed financial rule or order, it is his duty to advise
the Local Government accordingly; and the Local
Government, if it does not accept the view of the
Audit Officer, is required to refer the question to the
Supreme Government. Again, if an Audit Officer
considers that any expenditure sanctioned by the
Government of India requires the sanction of the
Secretary of State, he should place it under objection
and submit a report with a statement of reasons to the
Government of India in the Finance Department.
The Government of India reports all such objections
to the Secretary of State for information if the objec-
tion is over-ruled, or for the required sanction if it is
not over-ruled. Thus, both by constitution and by
departmental regulations, the Audit Department is
allowed a full measure of independence in the discharge
of its legitimate functions.
6. The district treasury is the unit of the financial
system in India, and the accounts of the district
treasury form the basis of the Finance and Revenue
Accounts of the Government of India presented to
Parliament. The dues of Government are all lodged
in the district treasury, and the funds for the services
are supplied from it. In matters of accounts of
receipts and disbursements, and the management of
the cash balances, the Revenue Officers in charge
of district treasuries are wholly under the orders of
the Civil Accountant General. The ordinary routine
of the audit and account work of the Accountant
General is as follows :—
(a) Officers in charge of district treasuries furnish
the Accountant General after the close of
each month with cash accounts embracing
all the receipts and disbursements in the
treasury during the month, with vouchers
and schedules, and with statements of cash
balances at the end of the month ;
(Z>) the accounts are audited in detail in the office
of the Accountant General in accordance with
prescribed regulations, except as regards
monetary transactions with non-civil depart-
ments, such as Military, Public Works, etc.,
having separate Audit and Account Officers
of their own, and the necessary record of
audit is made in prescribed registers ;
(c) a balanced account of the financial trans-
actions of the whole district is then pre-
pared in which the audit figures are classi-
fied in detail under prescribed heads of
account ;
(d) when the accounts of all the districts in the
, province have been compiled in the above
manner, a consolidated account for the whole
province is prepared in detail of the heads of
account (including heads showing in lump the
transactions with non-civil departments) and
recorded in the office of the Accountant
General ;
(«) an abstract of the monthly account for the
province is submitted to the Comptroller
General, and copies of the consolidated ac-
counts for the eight months ending November
and for the whole year, are also submitted to
him ;
(/) to enable ithe Comptroller General to watch
the work of the Accountant General’s Office,
a monthly “ State of Audit and Account
work ” is sent, giving in a tabular form the
dates of completion of all the prescribed ac-
counts and returns ;
(ff) a half-yearly report on arrears of work in
each Accountant General’s Office is also fur-
nished to the Comptroller and Auditor
General ;
(7t) the objections raised on audit are embodied
in registers prescribed for the purpose ; the
balances on these registers are carefully re-
viewed by the Accountant General, and an
annual report is made to the Comptroller
General on the progress of clearance of the
balances under objection ;
(«) an annual report is made to the Local Govern-
ment bringing to notice delays and other
irregularities on the part of Treasury Officers
in complying with the requirements of the
Audit Department;