The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has called for addressing the causes that affect schedule delay, cost escalation and quality of work in the public-funded development projects. Addressing the opening session of the Auditors General Conference here on Saturday, the AJK president said that it is time to introduce an effective system to ensure transparency in the use of funds and timely accomplishment of all public welfare projects in the country. If the institution of Auditor General uses the powers delegated to it under the constitution and law, not only the transparency in the government expenditure and good governance can be ensured but there would also be no need of any other accountability institution, he asserted. He said that it is the constitutional and legal obligation of the Auditor General to ensure transparency in the utilisation of every penny allocated for the public welfare projects, and it is a matter of pleasure that the institutions in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir are striving to fulfil this obligation. He stressed that modern technology should be utilised to perform the responsibilities of the audit system and it should also be ensured that rules and regulations are being complied in the funds being utilised for the development projects and these projects are completed within the specified. “Delay in completion of projects increases the expenses manifold, and the projects also lose their utility, those associated with the projects are replaced and the process of accountability remains incomplete” he declared. The state president said that it should also be looked into why the objectives and targets are not achieved in the projects where the state funds are utilized even in a transparent manner. He said that the private sector involved in the projects completed under public-private partnership also falls within the scope of the Auditor General. He added that there should also be a mechanism of the accountability of those serving with the financial auditing. Saying that new and emerging technologies are altering the financial reporting environment substantially, President Khan said that the technologies like blockchain, robotic process automation, and artificial intelligence are changing the entire environment of management’s internal control over financial reporting. Addressing the conference, the Auditor General of Pakistan Javed Jahangir said that the Auditor General ensures transparency of the utilisation of the state’s financial resources under the parliamentary supervision, and presents its reports to the public accounts committees of the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies. “However, we are endeavouring to introduce new technologies in our department in the changed situation,” he added. He said, “We are also trying to modernise our monitoring and reporting system in order to get maximum results within resource and time constraints.”