Communications
II. Guidance Note on Preface to Audit Reports
Reference No. 70-160-PPG/44-2013 dated: April 4,2014
A need has been felt for bringing about some uniformity and consistency in the preface to the audit reports to the audit reports of CAG of India. The preface is essentially to convey to the reader of the glimpse and scope. It is therefore, necessary that the following essential elements must be present in the preface of all the audit reports of the Union and State Governments.
I. Mandate
Constitutional mandate that the report has been prepared under Article 151 of the Constitution for submission to the President/Governor, as the case may be, has to be mentioned in all reports other than the reports prepared exclusively on the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
In the case of reports dealing exclusively with the audit of PSUs, a reference has to be made about the mandate available under Section 619 of the Companies Act 1956. A reference has also to be made about the supplementary nature of the accounts/audit which is being done under Section 19(1) of the CAG’s (DPC) Act.
There is no requirement of mentioning the provisions of the CAG’s (DPC) Act for any other report.
II. Scope of the Report
Scope of the report would cover the following 4 sub-elements:
- Year of the report – In case of the reports which are prepared on an annual basis i.e. the report on State Finances, the Compliance and performance audit reports, a reference has to be made about the year for which the report has been prepared. However, there is no requirement of mentioning 1for the year ended ----------- in the case of the stand alone audit reports.
- Audited entities – Names of the departments whose results of audit are covered in the report may be mentioned. This has become necessary after restructuring of the Department and splitting of reports to report in different sections.
A reference may also be made that departments not covered in this particular report would feature in other reports. However, it is not required to mention the name of department under audit in the report No.1 of the Union Government and the report on State Finances as those reports cover the concerned Government as a whole. In case of the stand alone reports the subject matter under audit may be mentioned.
- Type of audit – The preface should contain the information about the nature of the audit i.e., that this report contains results of performance/financial/compliance audit as applicable.
- Period of audit – The preface should explain period to which the cases pointed out in this report belong to. Mention that certain matters may also belong to the earlier year or subsequent years as applicable may be required.
III. Standards
Preface should mention that the audit has been undertaken in conformity with the CAG’s auditing standards.
IV. Acknowledgement
In case of the stand alone reports, an acknowledgement of the cooperation extended by the Executive may be mentioned. However, in the case of other reports the acknowledgement could appear in the relevant chapters.
Formats designed for different types of Audit Reports are attached. The modifications in the structure and language can be made, if necessary, with the approval of DAI/ADAI for the Report concerned.
DRAFT PREFACE
(Applicable to the Reports dealing with Economic(including Revenue) and General & Social Services sectors)
This Report for the year ended March (the relevant year) has been prepared for submission to the President /Governor of (Name of the state) under Article 151 of the Constitution of India.
The Report contains significant results of the performance audit and/or compliance audit of the Departments of the Union Government/Government of (Name of the state) under the (Economic/General and Social Services), including Departments of (name of the departments covered in the report). However, Departments of (name of the departments not covered in the report) are excluded and covered in the Report on (General and Social Services/Economic).
This report deals with the results of audit of Government companies and Statutory corporations for the year ended March (the relevant year).(Scope of Audit: Year, Audited Entities, Type of Audit)
The instances mentioned in this Report are those, which came to notice in the course of test audit for the period (relevant financial year) as well as those which came to notice in earlier years, but could not be reported in the previous Audit Reports; instances relating to the period subsequent to (relevant financial year) have also been included, wherever necessary. (Period of Audit)
The audit has been conducted in conformity with the Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. (Standards)
DRAFT PREFACE
(Applicable to reports dealing exclusively with PSUs)
This report deals with the results of audit of Government companies and Statutory corporations for the year ended March (the relevant year).
The accounts of Government Companies (including companies deemed to be government companies as per the provisions of the Companies Act ) are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) under the provisions of Section 619 of the Companies Act 1956. The accounts certified by the statutory Auditors (Chartered Accountants)appointed by the Comptroller and Auditor General under the Companies Act are subject to supplementary audit by officers the CAG and the CAG gives his comments or supplements the reports of the Statutory auditors. In addition, these companies are also subject to test audit by the CAG.
Reports in relation to the accounts of a Government Company or Corporation are submitted to the Government by CAG for laying before Parliament/State Legislature of (as applicable) under the provisions of Section 19-A of the Comptroller and Auditor General's (Duties, Powers and Conditions of Service) Act, 1971.
(Reference may be made to the corporations and authorities who accounts stipulate that they come under the ambit of sole audit of CAG, if applicable)
The instances mentioned in this Report are those, which came to notice in the course of test audit for the period (relevant financial year) as well as those which came to notice in earlier years, but could not be reported in the previous Audit Reports; matters relating to the period subsequent to (relevant financial year) have also been included, wherever necessary.
The audit has been conducted in conformity with the Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
DRAFT PREFACE
(Applicable to stand alone reports)
This Report for the year ended March (the relevant year) has been prepared for submission to the President/Governor of (Name of state) under Article 151 of the Constitution of India.
This Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India contains the results of performance/compliance audit of (subject matter) in (period covered in the audit).
The cases mentioned in this Report are those, which came to notice in the course of test audit for the period (relevant financial year) as well as those which came to notice in earlier years, but could not be reported in the previous Audit Reports; matters relating to the period subsequent to (relevant financial year) have also been included, wherever necessary.
The audit has been conducted in conformity with the Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Audit wishes to acknowledge the cooperation received from (the Department) at each stage of the audit process.
DRAFT PREFACE
Applicable to State Finance Report.
- This report has been prepared for submission to the Governor of (Name of State) under Article 151 of the Constitution.
- Chapters I and II of the Report contain audit observations on matters arising from examination of Finance Accounts and Appropriation Accounts respectively, of the State Government for the year ended 31 March (relevant year) information has been obtained from the Government of (as applicable) wherever necessary.
- Chapter III on 'Financial Reporting' provides an overview and status of the State Government's compliance with various financial rules, procedures and directives during the current year.
- The Report containing the findings of performance audit and audit of transactions in various departments and observations arising out of audit of Statutory Corporations, Boards and Government Companies and the Report containing observations on Revenue Receipts are presented separately.
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