The Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (COPF) has approved the Budget Estimate of the National Audit Office for the year 2026.
The approval was granted when the budget estimate was taken up for consideration at the COPF in parliament this week (19) and was approved to be presented to Parliament with the Committee’s proposals.
According to a Parliament statement, this consideration was carried out in terms of Section 34 of the Audit Act No. 19 of 2018.
Given that the COPF Chair, MP Harsha de Silva, was overseas, the said Committee met under the chairmanship of MP Rauff Hakeem, who was appointed as the Acting Chair of the Committee.
A group of officials representing the National Audit Office, including the Acting Auditor General, G.H.D. Dharmapala, as well as officials from the Department of National Budget, were present at this occasion.
During the COPF meeting, attention was drawn to the issues prevailing in the National Audit Office. Discussions were held on issues including staff shortage and the introduction of modern technology at the Audit Office, which audits nearly 2,000 institutions, including ministries, departments, foreign projects and state enterprises.
Officials of the Auditor General’s Department stated that at present only about 35 officials at the level of Chartered Accountant are serving in the National Audit Office, and that due to the prevailing salary scales, there is a difficulty in retaining officials who have passed the higher examination bars in accountancy.
In addition, attention was also drawn to the importance of establishing an office system at the provincial level under the National Audit Office, and the possibility of enhancing efficiency with a minimum number of staff through the use of modern technological features such as Artificial Intelligence. (Newswire)