Audit Vital for Democracy, Assuring Citizens: VP Radhakrishnan

New Delhi, Jun 3 (PTI) Vice President C P Radhakrishnan on Wednesday said an audit is a vital instrument for strengthening democracy and assuring citizens that public money is being used for good, in accordance with law, efficiency, and fairness.

Addressing a gathering after releasing a book edited by former CAG Vinod Rai, the Vice President help governments improve systems, correct deficiencies, and enhance outcomes.

"Most importantly, it reinforces trust between the state and the citizen," Radhakrishnan said and highlighted that the evolution of accountability, transparency and ethics in India has had a long history.

He emphasised that a responsible auditing system requires continuous improvement and investment in the auditing resources.

Such measures include training, technology upgrades, performance evaluation, data analytics, and sectoral expertise.

He further said that for the auditors to have legitimacy, they must stand up to the same scrutiny as other components of the governance system.

"Audit leadership must lead by example and consistently foster ethics and integrity," the Vice President said.

Referring to the book titled 'When Audit Matters: CAG Interventions That Made a Difference', he said it argues for ethical governance to be the moral foundation of public administration.

"The book has been written in an anecdotal style and covers a wide range of subjects dealt with in the past audits," he added.

Rai has also written a chapter on ethical governance, emphasising that it is indispensable for the country to attain the Viksit Bharat status, Radhakrishnan noted.


The authors have uncovered the stories behind audits that formal reports rarely convey.

Rai said a good audit system strengthens administration in multiple ways.

"It encourages financial discipline, improves systems and procedures, identifies weaknesses before they become crises and promotes transparency in public expenditure.

"And perhaps most importantly, it enhances public trust in institutions," he said.

He noted that over the decades, the nature of governance itself has changed dramatically.

Governments today manage programmes of extraordinary scale and complexity, and public expenditure now spans digital infrastructure, climate initiatives, social protection schemes, public-private partnerships, urban transformation, and sophisticated financial mechanisms, Rai said.

Highlighting that technology has altered the speed and scale at which decisions are made, Rai said that in such an environment, the role of audit has also evolved.

"The auditor of today is no longer confined to checking vouchers and reconciling accounts. Modern public audit increasingly examines performance, outcomes, efficiency, environmental impact, and systemic resilience," he said.

'When Audit Matters: CAG Interventions That Made a Difference' offers re-examination of public audit as a force for institutional strengthening and governance reform, rather than merely a mechanism for fault-finding or compliance.

Bringing together contributions from experienced government auditors, the volume presents real-world case studies across sectors such as infrastructure and finance, illustrating how evidence-based audits can lead to corrective action, policy recalibration and stronger administrative systems.

The book highlights the evolving role of India's Comptroller and Auditor General in promoting transparency, accountability and better governance outcomes.