The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) promotes accountability, transparency and good governance through high quality auditing and accounting.The Comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India is empower to audit all expenses from the combine Fund of the union or state governments, whether incurred within India or outside. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is the Head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IA&AD) and derives his constitutional standing as the Auditor of the Union and State Governments from Articles 149 to 151 of the Constitution.
Duties of the CAG
• Receipts and expenditure of the Union and the State Governments accounted for in the respective Consolidated Funds.
• Transactions relating to emergency Funds (created for use in circumstances) and the Public Accounts (used mainly for loans, deposits and remittances).
• Trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts and balance sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept in any Government Department.
• Accounts of Government organisations, Government companies and Government corporations whose statutes provide for audit by the CAG.
• Authorities and bodies substantially financed from the Consolidated Funds of the Union and the States.
• Any body or authority even though not substantially financed from the Consolidated Fund at the request of the President or the Governor.
• Accounts of bodies and authorities receiving loans and grants from the Government for specific purposes.
The duties of Comptroller and Auditor General includes audit of: ? all expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India of Union, of each State and of each Union Territory having a Legislative Assembly with the objective to ascertain whether the moneys shown in the accounts as having been disbursed were legally available for and applicable to the service or purpose to which they have been applied or charged and whether the expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it; ? all transactions of the Union and of the States/Union Territory having a Legislature relating to Contingency Funds and Public Accounts; ? all trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts and balance-sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept in any department of the Union or of a State and in each case, to report on the expenditure, transactions or accounts so audited by him; ? receipts and expenditure of bodies or authorities substantially financed from Union or State revenues; ? grants or loans given to other authorities or bodies; ? revenue of the Union and of the State Governments; ? accounts of stores and stock; ? Government Companies and Corporations under the Company’s Act 1956 read with CAG’s (DPC) Act, 1971 ; and ? accounts of other authorities or bodies as per their statute or upon request by the Governor of a State or the Administrator of a Union Territory having a Legislative Assembly.
Compilation of accounts of the State Government; ? preparation of the annual accounts of the States Governments and Union Territories having a Legislative Assembly; and ? rendering accounting information and assistance to the State Governments.
CAG presents a number of Audit Reports on the basis of audit of the Union Government and the State Governments to the Parliament and State Legislature respectively under Article 151 of the Constitution of India. In addition, CAG certifies the Appropriation Accounts and Finance Accounts of the Union Government and of the State Governments and forwards them to the President / Governors of States for being laid on the Table of Parliament and State Legislature respectively. CAG also submits Separate Audit Reports on all statutory corporations and autonomous bodies, for which he is the sole auditor.