The decade of 1990s and initial seven years of the new millennium that constitute the period of this history were some of the most eventful and challenging years for the Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IA and AD). The financial and economic reforms in the early 1990s, loosely called the liberalization reforms, set in motion, a momentum that is still continuing. These resulted in a massive shift in government policy from a controlled regime to a more open and liberalized economy as reflected in very significant reforms, amongst others, in public finance. The period was also synonymous with rapid developments in the field of information technology, which, in turn, contributed significantly towards dissemination of knowledge. The organization of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India – the IA and AD – was not impervious to these spectacular developments and itself underwent several organizational and technical make-over to keep up with the concomitant challenges. This book is an authentic version of events and developments which transformed the IA and AD during the last 18 years. This volume is a successor to departmental ‘history’ released in 1990. The period covered in this book corresponds to the tenures of three C and AGs. The book not only faithfully records the vents, initiatives, and developments during their time but also analyses their contributions to the cause of public audit. The developments covered in this book include, among others, India’s entry for the first time into the audit of international bodies, C and AG’s foray into the audit of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies that includes a new format called technical guidance and supervision, refinements carried out in auditing systems and procedures specially the Performance Audit System in line with international practices, Voucher Level Computerization of State government Accounts and the increasing application of Information Technology within the Audit Department and in conducting audit of IT systems, a strategy for human resources development in the IA and AD as also the gradual formulation of a media policy by the C and AG’s office. The author, in narrating the course of events which provided a ‘new face’ to the public audit in India also demystifies the techniques and processes of audit activities in a simple and direct style. All these make the book eminently readable and interesting.
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