AIFF to hire internal auditor to look over its finances for the next 5 years

THE AIFF IS hiring an internal auditor to look into its accounts for the period of the next 5 years, starting with the 2023-24 season.

In an announcement earlier today, the All India Football Federation said that the aim of this appointment is "to conduct risk-based Internal Audit for the Organization and provide guidance on maintenance & finalization of Accounts and introduction of internal control system."

Basically, the job is to keep an eye on the way the Federation manages its finances in real time. Which is why, prominently listed among the main scopes of the audit is the responsibility to "report on financial impropriety and irregularities and system inadequacies that leads to such impropriety/irregularity with suggestion."

Last year, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators to the AIFF had organised a forensic audit of the Federation's accounts under the old Executive Committee led by Praful Patel. The preliminary report, which came out in August 2022, found that large sums of money had been "siphoned off" from AIFF funds. An ongoing internal audit may help to counter the risk of that happening in the future as well.

The internal auditor will produce regular quarterly reports as well as special reports based on particular incidents if necessary, the announcement said,

"The auditor will submit their report along with executive summary by 30th of the month following each quarter of the financial year. For any issues with special significance and impact, FLASH AUDIT REPORT needs to be placed by the auditor within 10 days from the end of every month."

For years, greater financial transparency and accountability have been among the main demands of Indian football fans and experts who have been calling for reforms in the AIFF. Even recently, former Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia criticised the way the Federation was operating, claiming it was a "complete mess" and a "free for all."

It remains to be seen if this step taken by the new AIFF administration is going to deliver the financial responsibility that their critics have been calling for.

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