Complete guide to conduct 3 E’s of audit: economy, efficiency & effectiveness.
After a strong Lokayukta, Uttarakhand has taken on another anti-corruption measure by bringing its first audit manual, a helpful guide for conducting three Es of audit – economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
The audit manual brought out by the Uttarakhand finance department is also expected to work as a model for other states in India.
The manual, conceptualised by Alok Kumar Jain, additional chief secretary, is primarily designed to provide guidance to audit teams of the state government and also combines the various facets of audit.
“I am sure that this audit manual will inculcate a sense of financial discipline and propriety of government expenditures as well as enhance the professional competency of the audit personnel of the government,” said Jain, who is also heading the finance department. The manual has been prepared by KPMG, a leading provider in audit, after an extensive research work.
In an order to check the rampant corruption in various departments, the audit manual covers detailed audit checklist making it mandatory for the auditors to verify whether a tender document with standard terms and conditions has been approved by the competent authority. The audit manual prescribed different steps for departments like health, irrigation and PWD which are often plagued by scandals related to procurement and tender procedures. For selection of vendor for procurement of medicines and medical equipments, the manual highlights various steps asking the audit teams to verify whether tender has been published in the newspaper as per procurement rules and also that any bidder was not blacklisted. The auditor will also have to check whether procurement of medicines was done as per the demand and requirement.
The auditors will also have to check the samples of goods procured and obtain stock register for verifying its accuracy.
“We are now hopeful that all the departments will, now onward, strictly act in a transparent manner and will not break the rules,” said N N Thapliyal, adviser to the finance department, who also helped in preparing the document.