The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) will soon be breathing down the necks of two major UN organisations — the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Geneva.
The CAG, which won nationwide praise for its reports on 2G spectrum, KG basin (D6 block) and commonwealth games (CWG) this year, is now all set to make a mark internationally as the external auditor of IAEA and WIPO.
Both organisations have traditionally been audited by agencies from the developed world and it is for the first time that a supreme audit institution from outside Europe has been appointed.
These appointments were made in the face of competition from other developed countries such as the UK , Spain and Norway. The tenure of these audits could extend up to six years.
Last year, CAG was selected by the United Nation's World Food Programme for a six-year contract to audit its books.
These appointments for organisations such as IAEA and WIPO, which are specialised agencies, is a recognition of the professional capabilities of the CAG's auditing talent pool. The international community has acknowledged that public auditors of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department have high professional competence.
In particular, their knowledge, expertise and domain experience in conducting performance audits has been highly acclaimed. It is in recognition of such expertise that in the face of competition from Auditors' General of developed countries such as the UK and Norway, the CAG of India has been preferred.