Page 42 - The Pakistan Accountant Oct-Dec 2018

Signature Qualification CA that Empowers to Lead PAKISTAN we need to introduce to achieve this goal? What are the online) with an elaborate note on related parties giving reforms adopted by nations that came out victorious from full details about board of directors and shareholders the clutches of corruption and created a fairer society? of the company and complete financial information These are but a few questions which need to be answered about public sector projects undertaken and and elaborated by the media for the masses to make a completed. rational decision. ▪ Non-development expenditure segregated into payroll (along with number of employees) and other expenses. Access to Information Further, each government department will need to set Pakistan has enacted Right of Access to Information Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and report whether Act 2017 which grants all citizens of Pakistan access to or not they were achieved. information held by public bodies. Further, the Act sets minimum information to be published (including online) These financial statements will then be supplemented by by the public bodies. Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa access to information law which will enable a common have their own separate laws for Right of Access to man to dig into details. Information. This reporting framework should include all the The Act requires all public bodies to publish, among other government departments, at least in theory, to avoid information, ‘detailed budget of the public body, including creating ‘holy cows.’ The systems are supposed to be fair, proposed and actual expenditures, original or revised otherwise they collapse. These are rudimentary ideas, revenue targets, actual revenue receipts, revisions in the but they are essential in strengthening the accountability approved budget and the supplementary budget.’ There is framework when federal watchdogs like National no doubt that this legislation is a step in the right direction Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation and must be appreciated. However, crucial information Agency (FIA) are struggling in checking the corruption in regarding public expenditure has not been included the land. for automatic publication by the public bodies. In our economy, multi-billion rupee projects were completed ̶ but Stronger Standards of Integrity for no bid details like who approved the bids, how the money Public Officials was spent by the contractors engaged, etc. were shared. Stronger standards of integrity for public officials need to These are the potential loopholes for corruption as funds be implemented. Following the recent trends where social are approved behind closed doors and spent without the and mainstream media have shot honest bureaucrats to knowledge of the masses – the true owners of that money. fame in a short period of time, while at the same time, those involved in obvious corruption have been thrashed In this era of technology and communication, this quite wholeheartedly. A sociologist can better judge reporting can be achieved at minimum costs. A reporting whether it will be helpful in any way. framework needs to be developed for public expenditure in all four provinces and for the federal expenditure. The government needs to start preparing financial statements However, we need to introduce system changes. for citizens of Pakistan. (Finance ministry does report Compulsory income tax return filing for all levels of civil on the annual budget and other financial details but servants, as well as their immediate family members could it does not report in a manner understandable by an be a good starting point as it includes submission of average citizen.) Though this framework will need a lot of wealth statement and its reconciliation with income of the brainstorming, discussions and deliberations, we can point individual. Second step is to audit these tax returns. NAB out few of the basic elements it may contain: could be tasked to undertake the audit on sample basis, as ▪ A reconciliation of development and non-development done by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) without a person expenditure with the annual budget of the country. being ‘accused’ as defined in the National Accountability ▪ Development expenditure divided into individual Ordinance. Further investigation could be based on such development projects. audits. ▪ Each development project, as mentioned above, reporting details about bidders, bids, approver of The system also needs to take care of the output of the bids, i.e. government official(s); the relationship government employees. Because when they don’t get between the approver and the contractor; whether ‘chai pani,’ they resort to delaying tactics forcing even the approver or any of his/her ‘related parties’ had any an honest person to give bribe. ‘Pakistan Citizen Portal’ interest in the contractor; and time taken to complete launched by the prime minister is an excellent step towards the project. accountability of the civil bureaucracy and is a bridge between the citizens and the prime minister. However, the Further, contractors will need to make their financial Portal is not an assessment mechanism for the bureaucracy statements public like listed companies (preferably but a complaint point for the citizens. Bureaucracy rates 40 The Pakistan Accountant October - December 2018