ISLAMABAD: Regretting the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawyer’s bid to shift blame onto it for any wrongdoing traced in the party’s accounts, the Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) has asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to expunge his observations from the commission’s order.

In a letter dated Aug 20 and addressed to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, a copy of which is available with Dawn, LTBA President Akhter Mahmood Mian has “condemned” the PTI lawyer’s blame-shifting attempt, saying “it is deplorable to use such kind of profession for personal motives”. He prayed that the observation and the PTI lawyer’s statements may be expunged or obliterated from the ECP order.

“The misdeeds or wrongdoing of the management of an organisation, which might be a beneficiary of it, cannot be put upon the shoulders of the auditors and cannot be dis-reputed. Learned [PTI] lawyers were not justified to use the credentials of the auditors for their own purposes,” the letter stated.

He reproduced what he called the contentious portion of the order, “…Through this observation by the Election Commission even, it was the plea of the lawyer of the respondent that he has relied upon and took shelter of the Chartered Accountant firm and described that the auditors of the respondent are [Quality Control Review] rated as issued by the [Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan]… and the Auditors are falling in category A of the State Bank in which there are only 14 firms”.

LTBA official asks ECP to expunge PTI lawyer’s observations in prohibited funding case order

He said the PTI lawyer’s arguments were based on the impression that the audit was being conducted by such a firm that had the credentials and relevant track record, thus the accounts were correct, hence the proceedings should be closed. However, the LTBA president clarified the purpose of this representation was not to become a party in the case or defend any political party or a person, rather to defend the chartered accountancy profession.

The ECP’s obervations in the order about the firm, Munif Ziauddin & Co Chartered Accountants, that there were prohibited funds and concealed accounts, has left an impression among the public that the firm did not conduct the audit properly and were negligent about their duties, the letter stated.

“The audit is not being conducted for the government or semi-government department, regulators, financial institutions, creditors or potential investors, rather the audit is being conducted to report to the members or appointing authority of any company, enterprise or non- profit organisation.”

A company could provide a copy to any department because the financial statement coupled with auditors’ report was the firm’s property. A recipient of the statement along with the auditors’ report had no authority to examine, analyse or check the financial statements and prove they were wrong and the audit was not being conducted up to his satisfaction, Mr Mian wrote in the letter, adding the auditors expressed an opinion on the financial statements prepared by the management.

He maintained the auditors did not issue the certificate that the accounts were correct, instead they expressed an opinion that the accounts gave a fair view.

The LTBA president concluded, “Under these circumstances, it is prayed that the observation and reliance statements of the lawyer may please be expunged or obliterated from the order. The necessary clarification may please be issued so that the profession of chartered accountancy may not be hurt due to legal proceedings in pursuance of special laws against the political party.”

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2022