The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) of Nepal has launched its much-anticipated Nepal Audit Management System (NAMS), as part of an effort to strengthen the OAG. NAMS is a software that streamlines the audit process in order to accurately identify and reduce risks, thereby saving time, space, and money. This new system marks the beginning of a digital audit regime in Nepal.
The OAG has issued a directive and formed a unit to manage NAMS, which leverages information and communications technology (ICT) and integrated government applications to automate the audit life cycle. The system supports all audit activities, including:
- Risk-based audit planning at federal, provincial, and local levels;
- Data migration from different government ICT systems;
- Online access to the audited entity;
- Audit execution, based on checklists and templates;
- Online audit quality control and assurance mechanism;
- Online transmission of system-generated audit reports; and
- Archiving of audit documents.
“Government auditors will have to move along with technologies, and must know how to audit in today’s digital environment,” said Mr. Tankamani Sharma Dangal, Honorable Auditor General of Nepal, at the inaugural ceremony for NAMS.
“As the globe is going digital, there is no alternative but for auditors to adopt software-based auditing practices. Having the right level of expertise in new technology allows auditors to provide the highest quality of audit.”
At the ceremony, Deputy Auditor General Mr. Ramu Prasad Dotel emphasized that adopting digital technologies would improve audit quality and ensure greater transparency, shorter audit cycles, and fewer errors. “It will move the office in the direction of remote auditing,” he added.
