CAG appointed external auditor of IAEA and WIPO

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has been appointed as external auditor of two major UN organisations, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Having traditionally been the stronghold of the developed world, it is for the first time that a supreme audit institution from outside Europe has been appointed to these prestigious positions in these two organisations. These appointments were made in the face of competition from other developed countries like the U.K., Spain and Norway. The tenure of these audits could extend up to six years.

In a statement here, the CAG said: “These appointments for organisations such as IAEA and WIPO... are recognition of the professional capabilities of the CAG's auditing talent pool. The international community has acknowledged that public auditors of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department have high professional competence.” The CAG is on the panel of external auditors of the UN and its agencies and also on the Governing Board of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions and is poised to take over as its Chairman for three years from March, 2012.

“The recognition of the capabilities of the CAG of India has in the past manifested in his appointment on the Board of Auditors of the United Nations and as external auditor to a number of other major UN agencies like Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), World Health Organisation (WHO), International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW),” the statement said.