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| 22 May 2004 | Saturday | 02 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 |
KARACHI: Probe likely into IBA's financial irregularities
KARACHI, May 21: The Institute of Business Administration is likely to review the alleged financial misconduct of its senior officials during a period of six years, 1994-2000, sources in the institute said.
A source in the administration said that the authorities were of the view that despite existence of sufficient evidence against senior officials, little punitive action could be taken against such officials in past, which surely hampered monitoring process.
It was learnt that present IBA director Danishmand had prepared a comprehensive document and action plan about the institute, after its separation from the University of Karachi.
The director had circulated an enquiry plan and a "Forensic Report" among the people at the helm of affairs, the source added, saying that things were being kept in low-profile so that any "back fire" could be averted.
According to official papers, the director has finalized a committee to examine alleged irregularities in the use of IBA, funds as revealed in a report by an audit firm.
The committee, with Dr Mohammad Nishat as its head, would include Col Muzaffar Zaidi (rtd), Dr Sayeed Ghani and a representative of the Chief Minister's Inspection Team as its members and would conduct an enquiry into circumstances leading to misuse of IBA funds from July 1, 1994 to June 30, 2000, within 30 days.
According to its terms of reference, the committee will examine all concerned witnesses in the light of documentary evidence produced by the audit firm to ascertain the factual position of the case.
The committee will segregate the forensic report to find out: a) Proper procedure in making selected payments was not followed, but payments were genuine, b) neither proper procedure was followed, nor selected payments were genuine, c) proper procedure was followed, but selected payments made to person instead.
The committee will also apportion blame and fix responsibility on individuals for making or receiving unauthorized payments, if any. The committee will also evaluate the IBA's accounting system and give recommendations to obviate any chance for irregularities in future.
The committee is also supposed to avoid generalization, supposition and assumptions, while formulating findings, opinions and recommendations that must lead to definite decisions by Competent Authority.
A document said that in the past, the IBA consultants had been able to obtain sufficient evidence, suggesting that senior officials at the institute were allegedly involved in making substantial, inadmissible payments in violation of provisions of the IBA Act, 1994, applicable rules, policies, procedures and decisions of the IBA's board of governors.
When contacted, the IBA director said that a draft on the subject had been prepared and was being circulated among the people, who legally had the responsibility to approve his plan. "I would prefer to say that it is all at the stage of consideration till now," he mentioned.
Clarification
Apropos of the news item 'Probe likely into IBA's financial irregularities', appearing in Dawn's May 22 issue, the IBA's director of administration has sent a clarification saying that all audit authorities invariably use the term "irregularity" in their reports for apparently unclarified deviations from policy of the department concerned or government rules and regulations.
According to the IBA official, the IBA Act 1994 requires an audit report to be produced in the board of governors meeting for their decisions. The report is, therefore, scrutinized by a committee to help the competent financial authority, ie, the board of governors in case of the IBA, to arrive at the right decision. Technical experts outside the IBA jurisdiction may be coopted on the committee, subject to their availability, in an advisory role. "It is all a routine matter in good organizations, and the IBA follows the same practice."
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