Officials led by Auditor General Samudika Jayaratne have briefed the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on the progress of the National Audit Office’s Annual Programme for 2026.

The auditing of ‘Samurdhi Banks’ was also discussed during the meeting, and officials informed the Committee that the audits for 2023 and 2024 must be completed in order to conduct the audit for 2025, the statement said. 

They noted that the procurement process required to outsource these audits to external parties has not yet been finalized.

While initial estimates indicated that approximately 300 officers would be required to carry out the audits, the Auditor General stated that the recruitment of 200 officers over a period of one and a half years would be sufficient, it said.

Officials further highlighted the absence of a dedicated audit framework for Samurdhi Banks. In response, the Committee Chair recommended that a comprehensive study be conducted and that a proposed audit framework for Samurdhi Banks and affiliated societies be submitted to the Committee for consideration.

According to the statement the Committee also reviewed matters relating to cyber security. Officials from the National Audit Office stated that the department currently lacks in-house information technology specialists to support audit activities. As a result, system audits are carried out by external auditors.

In addition, the Committee discussed the account maintained for the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ programme. Officials from the National Audit Office informed members that no statutory fund currently exists under the name “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” and the programme operates through an account maintained under the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury. Officials further confirmed that no payments have been made through this account to date, the statement added.