THE ROLE OF THE SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTION

In Pakistan the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) is known as the Auditor General. The President,
in exercising the powers vested in him by Article 168 of the Constitution, appoints Auditor
General. In order to determine the terms and conditions of service, the tenure of office and the
powers and functions of the Auditor General, the President issued the Pakistan Audit and
Accounts) Order 1973 under Article 169 of the Constitution. This order serves as the charter of
the Auditor General, with Articles 9 and 11 of that order spelling out the functions and powers of
the Auditor General in relation to the accounts and audit of the public sector.

The Auditor General is responsible for keeping the accounts of the Federation and of the four
Provinces. However, in regard to the accounts of the Federation, the President and in respect of
the accounts of a Province, the Governor) may, after consultation with the Auditor General,
make rules for relieving the Auditor General of the responsibility for keeping accounts of any
particular service or department.

As regards the constitutional function of audit, it is the duty of the Auditor General i) to audit all
expenditure from the revenues of the Federation and of the Provinces, ii) to audit all transactions
of the Federation and of the Provinces relating to debt, deposits, sinking funds, advances,
suspense accounts and remittance business, iii) to audit all trading, manufacturing, profit and loss
accounts and balance sheets kept in any department of the Federal Government or of a Province;
and iv) to audit the accounts of any authority or body established by the Federation or a Province
and in each case to report to the President or, as the case may be, to the Governor on the
expenditure, transactions or accounts involved. The Auditor General may, with the approval of,
and shall if so required by the President or the Governor of any Province, audit and report on a)
the receipts of any department of the Federal Government or, as the case may be, of the
Province; and b) the accounts of stores and stock kept in any office or department of the Federal
Government or, as the case may be, of the Province.

Constitutionally, audit and accounting functions are combined in the Auditor General of
Pakistan. Accordingly the Auditor General has been relieved of the responsibility to maintain
accounts of the Pakistan Railways, the Defense Services and a few other major departments.

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After the Federal Accounts for a given financial year are consolidated by the Auditor General
and he has finalized his reports thereon, sets of these accounts are printed in book form and along
with the reports are forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Finance. In terms of Article 171 of the
Constitution, the Ministry of Finance submits both the accounts and reports to the President for
presentation to the Parliament. As regards the Provincial Accounts and Reports, these are
submitted by the Auditor General to the Governor of the particular Province, who submits them
to the Provincial Assembly involved.

THE ROLE OF THE SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTION

The Ministry of Finance Pakistan monitors the overall financial affairs of the Government of
Pakistan. The Finance Minister of Pakistan heads the Finance Ministry in Pakistan.
It is also responsible for preparing the annual budget for Pakistan and the excess or
supplementary budget statements for the purpose of discussions on parliamentary accounts and
audit of the Federal Government of Pakistan as allotted according to the Rules of Business, 1973.

The Ministries and Divisions prepare their Budget Estimates and obtain legislature approval
through the Federal Ministry of Finance in the case of national agencies, and through the
Provincial Finance Departments where the various Provinces are concerned.

The Ministry of Finance at the Federal level is the custodian of all revenues and the central
agency which disburses the pooled finances to the Provinces. The Federal Ministry of Finance
through the Central Board of Revenue collects taxes, both direct and indirect. The Ministry raises
local and foreign loans through the banking system, while budgetary deficits are financed using
various techniques of financial management.

The role of Finance Division is to analyze all proposed financial plans and programmers’ of
government agencies to ensure that they are in accordance with the prescribed national
objectives and that the resources are applied in an economical, efficient and effective manner to
promote stable economic growth.

The Federal Finance Ministry/Provincial Finance Departments work in close cooperation with
the SAI to ensure propriety and regularity in public expenditure. Generally, the Finance

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Ministry/Department is the authority primarily responsible for i) administering the financial rules
of the Government, and ii) seeing that appropriate accounts are maintained by other departments
and establishments subordinate to it. The SAI renders all legitimate assistance to the Finance
Ministry/ Department, and gives advice where requested on the application of particular financial
rules or orders. Factually, monitoring of achievement of planned policies is the responsibility of
the Federal Finance Ministry/Provincial Finance Department.

The Federal Ministry of Finance is the agency that controls the public sector finances of
Pakistan. The central agencies which assist the Ministry in carrying out its financial management
responsibilities are:

i. CENTRAL BOARD OF REVENUE: The Central Board of Revenue is an attached

Department of the Ministry and collects all direct and indirect taxes of the Federation
through its Commissioners of Income Tax and Collectors of Central Excise and Land
Customs based at various locations throughout Pakistan.
ii. AUDITOR GENERAL OF PAKISTAN: The Auditor General of Pakistan holds a
constitutional position. However, his Department is attached administratively to the
Ministry of Finance.
iii. CENTRAL STATISTICAL ORGANISATION: The role of this organization is to collect
all types of statistics for the Federal Ministry of Finance that can be used for fiscal and
monetary management of the federation.
iv. NATIONAL SAVINGS ORGANISATION NSO): The NSO mobilizes public savings for
the Federal Government through National Savings Schemes operated by its various
savings centers throughout the federation.
v. PAKISTAN MINT: The Metallic coins of small denomination are minted and circulated
in the country by the Pakistan Mint.
vi. STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN: The State Bank of Pakistan is an autonomous body
working under the overall framework of the Ministry of Finance. The Bank is headed by
a Governor who is selected by the Government and is appointed with tenure. The Bank
plays a vital role in regulating the monetary policy of the Government.

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 REFRENCES

 http://finance.mapsofworld.com/
 www.asosai.org/asosai_old/R_P.../chapter_10_pakistan.