Financial integrity, compliance with laws and performance standards, and efficient, economical and effective service delivery performance are mandatory for every government. Discuss the existing practices in ensuring public financial accountability and also give suggestions to improve it. (Answer in 350 words)

- Financial integrity, compliance with laws and performance standards, and efficient, economical and effective service delivery performance are mandatory for every government. Discuss the existing practices in ensuring public financial accountability and also give suggestions to improve it. (Answer in 350 words)
Introduction
Public financial accountability ensures that public money is raised, allocated and spent legally, transparently, economically, efficiently and effectively. It combines financial propriety with performance accountability and is fundamental to democratic governance.
Body
Existing Practices Ensuring Public Financial Accountability:
1. Legislative Control: Parliament and State Legislatures approve taxation and expenditure through the Budget and Appropriation Acts, ensuring the principle of “no taxation or expenditure without legislative authority.”
2. CAG Audit: The Comptroller and Auditor General conducts financial, compliance and performance audits, examining legality, propriety and the 3Es—economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
3. Parliamentary Committees:
- Public Accounts Committee (PAC) examines CAG reports and appropriation accounts.
- Estimates Committee assesses economy and efficiency in expenditure.
- Committee on Public Undertakings scrutinises public enterprises.
4. Financial Rules and Internal Controls: General Financial Rules, Delegation of Financial Powers Rules, internal audit and departmental financial advisers regulate expenditure and procurement.
5. Digital Financial Management: Public Financial Management System (PFMS), e-procurement, Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and Direct Benefit Transfer improve traceability and reduce leakages.
6. Outcome and Performance Budgeting: Ministries increasingly link expenditure with measurable outputs and outcomes rather than merely reporting financial utilisation.
7. Transparency and Social Accountability: RTI, social audits, disclosure portals and citizen monitoring complement formal financial control.
Continuing Weaknesses:
- Audit findings often face delayed corrective action.
- Excessive focus on procedural compliance can overshadow outcomes.
- Weak internal audit capacity and fragmented financial information persist.
- Legislative committees face backlog and limited technical support.
- Local governments often lack professional accounting and audit systems.
Suggestions:
1. Move from transaction-based to risk-based and real-time auditing.
2. Strengthen internal audit and professional financial-management cadres.
3. Integrate budgeting, procurement and outcome data through interoperable digital platforms.
4. Make PAC follow-up and departmental action-taken reports time-bound.
5. Expand performance and social audits at local levels.
6. Adopt accrual-based accounting where appropriate and improve asset-liability reporting.
7. Strengthen transparency in public procurement and beneficial ownership.
Conclusion
Thus, public financial accountability must evolve from mere financial compliance to outcome-oriented stewardship, combining legislative oversight, independent audit, digital transparency and citizen scrutiny to secure both integrity and public value.