New Delhi [India], October 8 : The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India organised the first State Finance Secretaries Conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.
This inaugural conference, held under the aegis of the CAG, was attended by the Secretary (Expenditure), Government of India, Additional Chief Secretaries/Principal Secretaries/Secretaries (Finance) of various states, representatives from the RBI, members of the central government's accounting services and the Ministry of Finance, State Accountants General responsible for the Accounting and Entitlements functions of the states, as well as senior management and officials of the CAG of India.
The CAG of India plays a crucial role in the federal fiscal framework, acting as a bridge between the Union and State Governments.
In addition to being the supreme public sector auditor for the Union and State Governments and their entities, the CAG is also responsible for compiling the accounts of the states and presenting their annual accounts to the respective legislatures.
The Conference aims to institutionalise the CAG's outreach to stakeholders and enhance communication with State Governments and other entities to address public financial management issues, with a particular focus on strengthening transparent and accountable financial reporting and related reforms.
In his inaugural address, CAG Girish Chandra Murmu highlighted the importance of harmonising expenditure at the disaggregate level of Object Heads across all states and the Union Government, an issue that has been under discussion among stakeholders for some time.
He expressed hope that this would be a key outcome of the Conference. He also encouraged stakeholders to collaborate towards advancing the finalisation of monthly state accounts to the 10th of the succeeding month, from the current timeline of the 25th.
Murmu reaffirmed the CAG's commitment to engaging with stakeholders, particularly the Union and State Governments, to strengthen and enhance the sustainability of the public financial management framework.
He also stressed the need for financial management applications, such as the Central PFMS, State IFMS, and RBI's e-Kuber, to interface more effectively with the CAG's accounting application in the states to ensure timely and robust reporting.
In his welcome speech, Deputy CAG (Government Accounts) Jayant Sinha announced that the Conference would become an annual event in the fiscal calendar. This would provide a regular opportunity to engage with State Governments and related stakeholders on broader public financial management issues.
The Conference deliberated on a wide range of topics related to state finances, fiscal parameters, the repository of fiscal information, harmonisation of expenditure classification at the primary level across states, the advancement of monthly account closures to the 10th of the following month, and the review of practices relating to utilisation certificates for state grants.
The discussions and consensus reached during the Conference are expected to significantly strengthen and sustain public financial management practices, including the timeliness and quality of financial reporting, as well as comparative fiscal information across states for informed decision-making.