International Journal of Auditing – October 2008
Bangladesh
New Comptroller and Auditor General Named
Ahmed Ataul Hakeem has been named the 10th Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh. Prior to his appointment, he served as the Controller of General Defense Finance in the Ministry of Defense.
Ahmed Ataul Hakeem
Mr. Hakeem joined the Bangladesh Civil Service Audit and Accounts cadre in March 1979. During his distinguished career in the Civil Service, he worked both in accounts offices and audit directorates of the Audit and Accounts Department. He also served as the first ever Chief Accounts Officer of the Government of Bangladesh.
Mr. Hakeem worked as the Director/Deputy Secretary in the budget wing of the Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance from 1991–1997. He became the Director General of the Audit Department in 1997 and was head of the Financial Management Academy for 5 years. He also served as Director General of the Civil Audit Directorate. From 2004–2005, he was posted as the Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (Senior) at the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh.
Mr. Hakeem has a bachelors and a masters degree in economics from the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh and a masters degree in development finance from Birmingham University in the United Kingdom. He also has a certificate in public sector budgeting from Harvard University in the United States and a post-graduate diploma in management from the Bangladesh Open University. He is a fellow of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh.
Medium-Term Budget Framework System Auditing
In 2005, the government of Bangladesh introduced the medium-term budget framework (MTBF), whose main features are a medium-term outlook on budget planning, an explicit link between policy priorities and resource allocations, and an emphasis on the efficient use of limited public resources. Under the MTBF system, the principal accounting officer, who is also chief executive of the ministry/department, is given increased authority and responsibility over the budget. During the initial phase, a few ministries and divisions have started developing their budgets using MTBF procedures.
The SAI of Bangladesh recently started to audit the ministry accounts maintained since the introduction of the MTBF system. Their audit approach is different from the one used for financial audits of ministries with conventional budgets. A system-based audit of the financial statements, compliance with rules and regulations, and internal control system of the auditee analyzes whether the ministry/department is making expenditures in accordance with targets fixed under the MTBF.
For additional information, contact the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor
General:
E-mail: international@cagbd.org
Web site: www.cagbd.org