Unsettled audit irregularities climb past Rs 755 billion

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s total unsettled audit irregularities have surpassed Rs 700 billion.

According to the annual report of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) for fiscal year 2024/25 submitted to President Ramchandra Paudel on Friday, the total amount of unsettled accounts has reached Rs 755 billion.

The OAG said in the report that it audited expenditures worth Rs 9,484 billion during the fiscal year across federal, provincial, and local governments, organized institutions, and other bodies and committees designated under federal law. It added that it could not audit accounts of 179 agencies worth Rs 147.9 billion during the period, as they failed to submit their financial records due to the September protests.

The audit found irregularities worth Rs 88.09 billion requiring various policy and systemic reforms. Of the total, federal government offices accounted for Rs 53.49 billion, provincial governments for Rs 5.23 billion, local governments for Rs 19.05 billion, and committees and other institutions for Rs 10.32 billion in irregularities, Auditor General Toyam Raya said.

The report said Rs 14.63 billion had been recovered through the settlement of past irregularities and clearance of issues identified this year.

During the current fiscal year, audits were conducted for 3,050 federal ministries and agencies involving expenditures worth Rs 2,917 billion.

The Ministry of Finance recorded the highest proportion of irregularities at 70.37%. The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport ranked second, followed by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation in third place.