Indian Audits and Accounts Service

IA&AS or Indian Audit and Accounts Service is an Indian Central Government service, free of control from any executive authority, under the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The officers of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department serve in an audit managerial capacity. IA&AS is responsible for auditing the accounts of the Union and State governments and public sector organizations, and for maintaining the accounts of State governments. IA&AS is the government's financial watchdog, and is a critical element in checks on the government. It role is somewhat similar to the US GAO and National Audit Office (United Kingdom).

The service has Principal Accountants General and Accountants General for every State in India. Generally, each state has one Principal Accountant General in charge of audit functions. In addition to Principal Accountant General, each state also has Accountants General in charge of accounts and entitlement functions ( Salary,Provident Fund, Pension etc). Bigger states may have an Accountant General (Audit) in addition to the Principal Accountant General.

Recruitment and Training

Recruitment to the IA&AS is through the joint competitive examinations (the Civil Services Examination) along with the Indian Foreign Service, Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Revenue Service(IRS).

Once recruited to IA&AS, the officers are trained at [https://www.naaa.gov.in National Academy of Audit and Accounts] , Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India.

The officers of IA&AS are required to acquire and possess not only the professional skills of an accountant and auditor but also the administrative competence to manage the staff of the Indian Audit & Accounts Department, which has a strength of over 60,000 personnel. Their job requirements include scrutiny of intricate contracts, understanding of tax and revenue laws, assessing the financial health of commercial corporations. Industry knowledge may be required also, grasping for instance the complexities of oil exploration or the working of an atomic power plant and comprehensively reviewing the effectiveness of implementation of country-wise schemes for rural development, health services, education etc.

Sanctioned Strength

Sanctioned strength of IA&AS Cadre (As on 01.08.2006)Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General: 3Additional Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General: 5Principal Accountant General: 26Senior Administrative Grade: 107Junior Administrative Grade: 161 (Selection Grade 80 and Ordinary Grade 81)Senior Time Scale: 256Junior Time Scale: 136

IA&AS Overseas

IA&AS officers mainly go abroad to conduct embassy audit i.e. audit of Embassies and High Commissions of India situated all over the world. However, IA&AS officers are seconded to Middle East (Oman, UAE) and African countries (Botswana) to serve in audit departments as specialists. Many also join the United Nations and its allied agencies for a short term.

External links

* [http://cag.nic.in/ Official Government website]
* [http://www.naaa.gov.in/index.htm National Academy of Audits and Accounts website]
* [http://www.naaa.gov.in/iaas.htm Webpage describing the IA&AS in the NAAA website]