Foreign Ministry Aims to Clear 61% of Audit Discrepancies in Upcoming Fiscal Year

Kathmandu. Foreign Ministry Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai has stated that there is a work plan to increase the ministry's audit discrepancy settlement target to 61% in the upcoming fiscal year. 

Speaking at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee under the House of Representatives, he informed that the ministry currently has audit discrepancies worth approximately 2.85 billion rupees under its responsibility and clarified that the government has a plan to gradually reduce this.  

According to Secretary Rai, in compliance with the Public Accounts Committee's directives, a special program has been set to collect necessary evidence from the month of Shrawan to Poush for the fiscal years 2082/83 and 2083/84. The ministry is preparing to settle audit discrepancies during this period and submit them to the Office of the Auditor General for auditing. Through this process, the target is to settle audit discrepancies worth approximately 1.73 billion rupees. If the target set by the ministry is met, approximately 61% of the total audit discrepancies will be settled in the upcoming fiscal year. 

Despite persistent efforts, the ministry's financial discipline has been questioned due to old accumulated audit discrepancies, he said, expressing commitment to expedite the process of gathering evidence. Secretary Rai also informed the committee that the remaining progress in the area of audit discrepancy settlement and further detailed information will be continuously presented to the parliamentary committee as per time and need.