KATHMANDU, JUNE 29

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said that the audit conducted by the Office of Auditor General (OAG) has helped maintain financial discipline and integrity of the public administration of the country.

Addressing the 64th anniversary of OAG, President Bhandari stressed on the necessity to improve the conduct of the stateowned enterprises as the OAG reports have pointed out the increase in unaccounted expenses in public bodies every year.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma informed that the government has given high priority to reviewing unaccounted invoices.

'The programmes and policies of this year have also prioritised reviewing the unaccounted invoices,' Finance Minister Sharma said. 'The government is committed to maintaining transparency.'

Likewise, he said that the government is making continuous efforts to review the unaccounted expenses and implement the recommendations received from the auditors.

He emphasised the necessity to review the methods and procedures adopted so far for unaccounted financial transactions.

'There is a need to solve the cause of mounting unaccounted expenses and our shortcomings through study and research.'

He expressed confidence that the OAG's suggestions this year will further aid in making financial management efficient and accurate by fulfilling the responsibility of auditing the federal, state and local levels for the implementation of federalism.

He lauded the auditor general and his subordinates for their remarkable work in maintaining good governance in accordance with the constitution and prevailing law.

'I see the need to pay more attention to the issues of misuse of public expenditure and resources, revenue leakage, embezzlement, under-invoicing, negative impact on the economy from the informal sector, among others.'

He also said that he expects to receive suggestions from the OAG on the current economic situation through study and analysis.

'On the one hand, the size of the economy is widening and on the other hand, the economic indicators are fluctuating. Hence, I believe an in-depth study, analysis and evaluation of the overall aspects of the economy is the need of the hour. I expect the OAG to submit a strong report with suggestions for improvement.'

A version of this article appears in the print on June 30, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.