The Comptroller General of the United States of America, Government Accountability Office (GAO), Mr. Gene Dodaro, called on the CAG of India, Mr. Vinod Rai at the CAG Headquarters here today. The GAO in the USA, is the counterpart of the institution of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Mr. Dodaro & Shri Rai discussed issues of common interest and stressed the need for mutual cooperation which would be for mutual benefit. In particular, Mr. Dodaro was appreciative of the Indian CAG™s efforts to train its own officers and the infrastructure set up for facilitating the same. He lauded the professionalism of officers of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service and mentioned that they are rated very high globally. He appreciated their contribution in not only upgrading the professional knowledge and awareness in the INTOSAI Community but in different UN bodies. He commended the offer of the CAG of India to commit its own Training Institutes not only for South-South cooperation but also for assisting Supreme Audit Institutions which do not have adequate professional capability.
Shri Rai welcomed the US Comptroller General and reiterated the close ties between the two institutes. He assured Mr. Dodaro and the Donor Steering Committee that the training facilities available with the Indian Audit and Accounts Department would be available for training of officials of the INTOSAI Community.
Mr. Dodaro explained how the US GAO, which was earlier termed as the General Accounting Office was repositioned by the US Congress as the Government Accountability Office in 2002. It is now empowered to hold Government decisions financially accountable. This was a progressive and forward looking move of the US Congress.
Mr. Dodaro took over as the Comptroller General about a year and a half back and will be in office for 15 years, which is the designated tenure for the Comptroller General in USA. Mr. Dodaro is on his first visit to India after taking over as Comptroller General. He has come to India for attending a meeting of the INTOSAI Donor Steering Committee which is a committee set up jointly by INTOSAI and the international donor community to coordinate support of capacity building projects in lesser developed Supreme Audit Institutions.
