ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: The government has hired the services of an international audit firm, which would determine the financial health of Pakistan Television, Dawn has learnt.
The audit of PTV’s accounts is not only aimed at knowing its overall financial health, which is said to be in serious crisis, but also fixing the responsibilities so that channel could be put on a right track, an official close to the development told Dawn.
The firm known as HBL managed by Ijaz Tabassam Associates in Pakistan is given six-month time period to complete its audit.
The national channel has been plagued by the financial and administrative irregularities, and the recent saga of the confrontation between its outgoing managing director and sitting information minister added to its mismanagement.
The former managing director had accused the government of protecting a number of PTV’s defaulters and those who mismanaged the channel for years and he was forced to resign because he wanted to make them accountable. However, according to information ministry officials he started challenging the Federal Information Minister, Ms Sherry Rehman, which led to his resignation. Though PTV’s audit is done both internally and externally, the decision to employ an international audit firm is aimed at making its findings acceptable to all, the official said.
Various accounts show that the PTV’s financial health is in poor state, and the Senate standing committee on information and broadcasting has put its deficit to around Rs2 billion.
However, according to a government official, the national channel is suffering from a shortfall of Rs160 million in its ongoing operations during the current financial year. About the recoveries which various advertisement agencies owes to the national channel, the official said, though they stood at Rs1.7 billion, of which Rs560 million were recoverable because rest of the money had either been written off or the debtors had gone to the litigation.
About the audit which reportedly was done on the special orders of the outgoing managing director, Dr Shahid Masood, the official claimed it was a draft report on the performance of PTV’s various departments, but wrongly dubbed as an audit report.