Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Finance accounted for 54.75% of irregularities among federal ministries in fiscal year 2022/23, according to the 61st Annual Report of the Office of the Auditor General.
Section 2 (O) of the Financial Procedures and Fiscal Accountability Act, 2019, defines irregularity as a transaction revealed during the audit that has been carried out in violation of the procedures outlined in the appropriate law, that the required accounts have not been maintained, or that it has been carried out in an irregular and improper manner. This includes transactions conducted improperly or erroneously. The Act categorizes irregularities into three main types: recoverable, to be regularized and advances.
Following the finance ministry, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (25.99%), Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (6.71%), and Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation (2.19%) were found to have the highest irregularities among federal ministries.
Other ministries with significant irregularities included Urban Development (2.98%), Water Supply (1.64%), Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation (1.3%), Home Affairs (1.16%), Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (0.83%), and Foreign Affairs (0.83%). The remaining ministries accounted for 2.58% of the total irregularities, according to the report.
At the provincial level, Madhesh Province topped the list with 3.67% of audited accounts categorized as irregular, while Sudurpaschim Province had the lowest at 0.79%. Overall, 2.03% of provincial accounts audited in 2023/24 were flagged as irregular.
The audit also exposed lapses at the local level, with 2.72% of all accounts audited during the period classified as irregular. Among the 753 local units, 644 had less than 5% irregularities, 103 had 5-15% irregularities, and one local unit had more than 15% of its audited accounts deemed irregular.
According to the report, 39.03% of federal agencies and 29.84% of provincial government agencies audited in 2022/23 did not have outstanding irregularities.
The audit of federal, provincial, and local government offices revealed 192,583 cases of irregularities, with 74,128 cases classified as theoretical irregularities and 105,005 cases as outstanding irregularities.
