CAG initiates certificate courses to create pool of accountants for panchayats, municipal bodies

New Delhi [India], May 22 (ANI): The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a set of online courses for different categories of local self-governments (LSGs) to create a pool of accountants.
The candidates would be preferably drawn from contiguous areas of LSGs, who would be willing to work as accountants in LSGs in their local areas.
A release from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said that there are shortfall in the preparation of accounts across various tiers of local self-government (LSG), as evident from the audit conducted by the C&AG and local fund auditor, various reports prepared by governing departments of LSGs and as highlighted by progressive Finance Commissions.
"One of the primary reasons is the shortage of competent accountants in adequate numbers willing to work in Local Self Governments (LSGs), particularly in the lower tiers and remote localities," the release said.
The six tiers of LSGs are district panchayats (DPs), block panchayats (BPs) and gram panchayats (GPs)/ village panchayat in case of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and municipal corporations, municipalities and town panchayats (TPs) in case of urban local bodies.
The Certification Course was launched on November 16, 2023, at the Comptroller & Auditor General's office. Efforts have been made to make the course practical-oriented so that the students are able to prepare the accounts of local government units where they are engaged, the release said.
After enrolment of the first batch by the end of February 2024, the screening exam for the first batch was conducted in April 2024, and results were declared on May 10, 2024.
The release said 364 candidates appeared for the exam, out of which 232 qualified. The rate of qualifying for the screening exam was 64.17 per cent and 62.9 per cent in PRI and ULB, respectively.
The result is available on website and emails are also being sent to the candidates.
The Mains exam will be held sometime in July 2024, as two months are stipulated for the study of course material for the examination, the release said.
It said registration is in full swing for the second batch. For the second batch, the registrations started in March, and there have been over 550 registrations to date.
Various state governments are coming forward to give a fillip to this endeavour. The Special Secretary to the Government of West Bengal has written to the Mayor and Municipal Commissioner of all Municipal Corporations, Municipalities, and Notified Area Authorities of West Bengal to sponsor nominations from their offices. In Rajasthan, all accounting personnel of the ULBs have been directed by the department concerned to enrol in the course. In Sikkim, all accounting personnel have been mandated to enrol in the course, the release said. (ANI)