C&AG Of India Bags Award as External Auditor of WFP

The Executive Board of World Food Programme has approved the appointment of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India as the External Auditor of WFP for the period of 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2016 on 8th of June 2010. The process started in October 2009 with the issue of request for proposals (RFP) by the WFP.

India, Netherlands, Philippines, Pakistan and South Africa were the five countries who submitted their proposals. The proposals were evaluated on the basis of staff qualifications, training and experience, audit approach, quality control and communication process. Two candidates, India and South Africa emerged as clear front runners and were subsequently short-listed and invited to WFP Headquarters for formal presentation and interview.

The interviews and oral presentations took place at WFP Headquarters on 10 March 2010. On the basis of all elements of the process (technical scores, financial proposals and oral presentations) the Panel made its final evaluation and agreed unanimously that the best overall bid was that of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

The appointment is in the light of the CAG’s broad understanding of the operational environment of WFP, its qualified human resources, expertise in IT Audits and knowledge of various accounting frameworks including International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and knowledge of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). The CAG of India also has rich experience in the audit of foodgrains management, which is the core area of operations of WFP.

With the appointment as external auditor of WFP, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has added a new organization to its list of UN/ International organizations which it is currently auditing. The UN organizations are World Health Organization, World Tourism Organization, and International Maritime Organization, while other international organizations are International Organization for Migration and International Thermo Nuclear Reactor Organization. The CAG of India had earlier been the External Auditor of United Nations (UN) from1993 to 1999, Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) from 1997 to 2003, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) from 1996 to 2004 and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) from 2002 to 2008.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is also a key member of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), which is the apex organization for the Auditors General (or their equivalents) worldwide. He chairs the important INTOSAI Committee on Knowledge Sharing and Knowledge Services and is closely associated with the work related to setting and revising standards, establishing audit best practices and preparation of audit guidance. He is also the Chairman of the Working Group on IT Audit (WGITA) of INTOSAI in recognition of his credentials in the audit of IT systems. Domestically over 350 audits of IT systems of diverse platforms and databases including ERP applications have been conducted. Internationally, the CAG has conducted audit of SAP and Oracle based ERP systems in World Health Organization, Food and Agricultural Organization and International Maritime Organization. The UN Panel of External Auditors has invited the CAG of India to share audit procedures on ERP implementations.

At the Asian level, the CAG of India was the Secretary General of Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) till recently and continues to be a member of its Governing Board. He is closely associated with ASOSAI’s training, research and publication activities in the area of public auditing.

The CAG is also a member of the select group of Auditors’ General called the Global Working Group, which comes together every year to address current and emerging audit issues of concern that have surfaced in the wake of new challenges such as globalization, privatization and growth of Information Technology.