CAG To Establish Centre Of Excellence For Financial Audit In Hyderabad

 The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) will set up a centre of excellence in Hyderabad to incubate advanced skills and standardised high-quality financial audit methodologies across the departments.

The national hub is envisioned to be at the forefront of innovation, research, and professional development in financial auditing, AM Bajaj, Deputy CAG (Commercial & Report Central), told reporters here on Wednesday.

The centre will serve as an incubator for global best practices, foster advanced skills, and drive the standardisation of high-quality financial audit methodologies across the department, he added.

This significant institutional investment is a direct commitment to strengthening the foundation of fiscal trust and transparency, he said.

"By creating a dedicated Centre of Excellence, the CAG's institution is reinforcing its role as the supreme audit institution, ensuring that its practices not only meet but also set the global benchmarks for excellence in this domain," Bajaj said.

The announcement regarding the centre was made by CAG of India K Sanjay Murthy at the just-concluded 32nd Accountants General Conference.

Bajaj said the conference marked a strategic pivot towards revolutionising audit methodologies by unlocking the full potential of data and artificial intelligence.

"The leadership issued a clear directive to break down the silos between its audit and accounts functions, recognising the department's accounts offices as gold mines of invaluable financial data. The mandate is to transform the boundary between Audit and Accounts into a seamless bridge, enabling audit teams to systematically leverage granular data, including vouchers, sanctions, and challans for their work," he said.

This marks a fundamental shift from traditional sample-based auditing to a more comprehensive, holistic analysis of entire datasets. This deeper integration will be powered by cutting-edge technology, Bajaj added.

On the development of the CAG-LLM, an indigenously built Large Language Model, Bajaj said by combining deep data synergy with AI-driven analytics, the CAG is positioning itself to conduct sharper, more focused, and evidence-based audits with far greater impact.

He also said there is a renewed focus on integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria in audits.

The deep dive into data and AI represents the forward-looking spirit of innovation, while a renewed focus on integrating ESG criteria into audits underscores a commitment to sustainability.