New Delhi, Oct 27 (IANS): President Pranab Mukherjee Monday said as "Digital India" has become the backbone of government functioning, it calls for a transformation of traditional methods of audit, a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said.

Speaking at the inauguration of the 27th Conference of Accountants General on the theme "Promoting Good Governance and Accountability through Public Audit" here, Mukherjee said platforms used for delivery of public service influence the conduct of audit.

The president said: "As 'Digital India' becomes the backbone of government functioning, it calls for transformation in the traditional methods of audit. The leverage that e-governance can provide for improving efficiency, cost and coverage of audit has to be utilised well by revisiting your standard operating procedures."

He added: "We must remember that as watchdogs of national public finances, the institution of CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) has a positive and pre-eminent role in accelerating national development."

Mukherjee said that audit "is a means to an end rather than an end in itself" and should be considered a tool for improvement.

He said: "Audit findings are a barometer of good governance, their utility is manifested only when all the stakeholders, particularly the executive, legislature and citizens believe in the credibility of these findings and use them for enhancing the quality of governance."

The president said: "This casts a great responsibility on the public auditor to conduct audit professionally with utmost diligence and independence, and to report in a fair and balanced manner...

"Both the public auditor and the audited entity have to recognise that the objective of audit is ultimately to improve the implementation of governance strategies."