Why IA&AS?

IA&AS, over its long history, has evolved as a premier central service, owing to several positives that the service offers. IA&AS works under CAG of India, a constitutional body, which makes it aloof from any undue political interference. The service is known for most timely promotions amongst all the civil services. It is said that the entire government setup is similar to a huge elephant. Owing to its mammoth size, people working under it, get to feel only a part of it. IA&AS is one such service which gets an opportunity to understand this elephant in entirety, as it works in close contact with all the departments of government, be it for accounting function or auditing. The service is very attractive for people with professional bent of mind, as it’s a knowledge oriented department. Auditing some entity requires a thorough understanding of that entity. So one needs to constantly update oneself. Hence, the IA&AS Officers are valued in the bureaucracy for their multi-faceted experience and expertise in the area of audit, accounts and finance. Not surprisingly, several of them have stints in key positions in the union ministries of Government of India. As years pass by, bureaucrats often complain about monotony of their job. IA&AS offers varied opportunities for its officers, to work in several domains such as Accounts, Entitlements and Audit. Within audit itself, the number of sectors covered, makes work refreshing and challenging. In a recently conducted survey by the Government of India, amongst 3 All India Services and 7 Central Services, IA&AS emerged as the service with highest percentage of job satisfaction amongst its officers. It is known to be an employee friendly service. IA&AS also allows an optimal work life balance, as also evident from the mentioned survey. With increasing international exposure due to collaborative working framework of Supreme Audit Institutions of the world, auditing international bodies like the UN, WHO, and bilateral/multilateral assignments with other countries, the IA & AS officers get continuous exposure of international assignments. IA&AS Officers have been borrowed out to international organizations like the United Nations, IDI and various other countries for their expertise and skills. Indian Audit & Accounts Service, thus, offers very challenging and satisfying career avenues to the bureaucrats of the country.