The role of CCAO

The article 'Role of Chief Cost Accounts Officer (CCAO)' published in the daily 'Business Recorder' of 9.12.05 has come to my notice now. Therefore the response is late. But it is never too late to present the other side of the picture to clarify the position.
One may often find books written by co-authors but seldom an article is written by co-authors, therefore it was very strange to note that this article of less than 800 words was written by Saifullah Khan and Mian Mumtaz Abdullah, or, possibly, written by the former and blindly endorsed by the latter because, besides flaws in the article, some of which have been given below, a person who has remained at such high positions, should not have knowingly used remarks of the 'low standard of people available in cost accounts organisations'.
In fact Mian Sahib rang the Deputy Chief Cost Accounts Officer for inclusion of his name in the Federal Government's nominations for the 2006-8 term of the National Council of ICMAP, but having failed to get a positive response, he suddenly discovered that low standard people have been employed in cost accounts organisations of the Finance Division. Some of the flaws observed in the article were as under:
a) While appreciating the role of Cost and Management Accountants as Financial Advisor to the Ministry of Petroleum the article refers to two officers of Mian Sahib's caste ignoring M. Riaz Butt to whom Abdus Sattar owes his career;
b) Controlling and administering the ICMAP has been attributed as the other task of the CCAO, whereas the National Council of ICMAP controls and administers the ICMAP, the Cost Accounts Organisation only co-ordinates ICMAP's activities;
c) It has been mentioned that S.M. Zafarullah was retired in 2002, whereas he retired in 2000;
d) One may wonder how S.No 5 of article can be a special study carried out by the CCAO, because this para was a description of the position that ignoring the role of the CCAO, on the plea that most of units have been privatised is an erroneous assump-tion;
e) Another task achieved as mentioned at S-No 6 of the article, simply points out other activities, which may be entrusted to the CCAO.
The article does not prescribe the role to be played by the CCAO in a systematic way. Rather, it has been shown in a very confused manner without reference to the context. The article also fails to lay out where the CCAO has to undertake a study independently, where in the advisory capacity, and where to monitor the work of others.
The authors have no idea of the work being performed or assigned to the Cost Accounts Organisation, therefore they have included a lot of jobs pertaining to other independent departments such as the SECP, Monopoly Control Authority, De-fence Production, Planning Division, Local Government, CBR, Ministry of Commerce etc.
Throughout the article, the emphasis has been on broadening the scope of the work of the CCAO on the plea that privatisation of certain units does not limit its scope but without mentioning a single lapse on the part of the CCAO/Cost Accounts Organisation.
The work of persons working there was mentioned as sub-standard, which is strange and regrettable and the senior Cost and Management Accountants working in the Cost Accounts Organisation of the Finance Division deserve appreciation for their hard work instead of such remarks.
(The writer is Dy Chief Cost Accounts Officer, MoF)