ISLAMABAD: A tug of war is reportedly continuing between the Directorate General Audit (Power) and the Power Planning and Monitoring Company (PPMC) over audit paras for the financial year 2024–25, in which discrepancies have been pointed out in PPMC’s affairs, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
In a recent letter to PPMC Managing Director Abid Lodhi, the Audit Officer (Power), referring to a January 15, 2026 letter from the MD PPMC’s office, stated that the audit of PPMC accounts for FY2024–25 was initially scheduled from September 9 to September 26, 2025.
However, at the request of PPMC management— citing non-finalisation of accounts and seeking that the financial audit be conducted after completion of the accounts— the audit programme was curtailed and rescheduled from September 9 to September 19, 2025.
READ MORE: Sharing audit paras with power secretary annoys PPMC
Consequently, the financial portion of the audit was conducted from December 8 to December 12, 2025.
Upon completion of the field audit, the audit team issued 23 audit observations to PPMC on December 17, 2025, seeking discussion of the observations and submission of written replies for finalisation of the Audit Inspection Report (AIR).
Reminders were subsequently issued on December 23 and December 30, 2025, requesting replies by December 24 and December 31, respectively.
Despite these reminders, PPMC management neither submitted written replies nor proposed a date for an exit meeting, reflecting non-cooperation with the audit team and causing delays in finalisation of the AIR.
The Audit (Power) emphasised in its letter that audit activities are strictly time bound in accordance with prescribed procedures. Owing to continued non-response from PPMC, including failure to submit replies and schedule an exit meeting, the AIR was issued on December 31, 2025 in line with established audit practices.
Subsequently, 15 Proposed Draft Paras (PDPs) were issued to the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) on January 1, 2026, followed by issuance of seven additional PDPs on January 5 and January 8, 2026.
Following repeated requests by the audit team, an exit meeting was eventually held on January 6, 2026.
However, the meeting was conducted without submission of written replies or supporting working papers by PPMC. During the meeting, PPMC management reportedly displayed an unprofessional attitude, denied audit viewpoints, and raised objections to the audit process and issuance of PDPs instead of addressing the observations on merit.
“The delay in holding the exit meeting was solely attributable to PPMC management, which showed reluctance to ensure meaningful conduct of the exit meeting,” the Audit Officer stated in the letter to the PPMC managing director.
The audit further noted that while a soft copy of replies was received from PPMC on January 7, 2026, no hard copy duly signed by the competent authority, along with supporting documentary evidence, has been provided to date.
In the absence of complete and authenticated replies, the audit position remains unchanged.
The Audit (Power) reiterated that all audit actions were undertaken in conformity with established audit norms, procedures, and the Audit Quality Management Framework.
The decision regarding settlement or otherwise of the PDPs will be taken by the competent forum during the scheduled Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) meeting on February 6, 2026.
PPMC management has been advised to submit working papers supported by documentary evidence for discussion at the meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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