Para 3.4.7 — MSO (Audit)
Original Rule Text
3.4.7 The Accountant General (Audit) has the following minimum responsibilities in respect of all contingent bills audited. He must see:
(i) that each class of expenditure:
(a) is a proper charge against the Grant or Appropriation concerned;
(b) has received such sanction as is necessary; and
(c) has been incurred by a Government servant competent to incur it;
(ii) that such vouchers as are required by audit have been submitted (see paragraph 3.4.18 ff.);
(iii) that any certificates required under the financial rules of the Government concerned have been provided;
(iv) that the rates are apparently not extravagant and that standards of financial propriety have been properly observed;
(v) that the bill is in proper form and the classification is correctly recorded thereon;
(vi) that, unusually large incidence of expenditure in the month of March does not lead to irregularities; and
(vii) that stores not immediately required or in excess of requirement have not been procured merely to avoid lapse of budget grant and remain ununtilised.
In addition, the control system in the offices of the drawing and countersigning officers should be checked in local audit to ensure that adequate arrangements exist to prevent more than one drawal against a single sanction or a double payment of a recurring charge.
- Audit of Contract Contingencies
What This Means
The Accountant General (Audit) has seven minimum responsibilities for all contingent bills: verifying the charge is proper against the grant, properly sanctioned, incurred by a competent officer, supported by required vouchers and certificates, not extravagant in rates, correctly classified, and not inflated in March to avoid budget lapse. Audit must also check that stores are not purchased merely to exhaust budget. During local audit, control systems must be verified to prevent duplicate drawals or double payments.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Seven minimum checks apply to ALL contingent bills regardless of category
- 2Each charge must be proper against the grant, sanctioned, and by a competent officer
- 3Required vouchers and certificates must be present
- 4Rates must not be extravagant; financial propriety standards must be observed
- 5Bill form and classification must be correct
- 6March-end expenditure spikes must be scrutinized for irregularities
- 7Local audit must verify systems to prevent duplicate drawals and double payments
Practical Example
In April, an auditor notices that a government office spent 40% of its annual contingency budget in March alone, including a large purchase of computer peripherals. The auditor examines whether the peripherals were actually needed and put to use, or were purchased merely to exhaust the budget grant before the financial year ended. Several items are found still in unopened boxes, leading to an audit observation.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is March expenditure specifically flagged?▼
What is a 'double payment' and how is it prevented?▼
Do these seven checks replace the category-specific audit checks?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.