New Delhi, Dec. 9 -- The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the national auditor, is preparing to overhaul the way it audits government departments by moving from post-facto examination of accounts to real-time audits of public spending, project execution and service delivery.

The shift marks one of the most significant changes to India's audit architecture in decades, and comes at a time when governments are executing larger, technology-driven programmes that require closer and more continuous oversight.

Under the existing system, most CAG audits are carried out after the end of a financial year. This limits its ability to flag risks early, and reduces the scope for course correction while a project is underway. The new approach ai...