AGP starts audit of first two editions of PSL

ISLAMABAD: The concerned staff of Audit General of Pakistan (AGP) has started conducting Pakistan Super League (PSL) audit in Lahore following a recent meeting between a top League Administrator and AGP officials in Islamabad.

The audit is being conducted of the first two editions of the PSL following initiative taken by the NA Committee on IPC headed by Abdul Qahar Wadan. The NA committee members had reservations over the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in-house or on a private firm audit of the PSL and had asked the concerned to go through the AGP audit to determine the true status of earning and expenditures.

The PCB accepted National Assembly Standing Committee on IPC proposal to conduct Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) first two editions audit from the AGP at the earliest.Talking to The News following in-camera Standing Committee meeting recently, PCB chairman Najam Sethi clarified that he had no hesitation in going ahead with the proposal.

The audit of the first two editions of the PSL was supposed to start as early as last month but due to the non-availability of concerned PCB officials, including Chief Operating Officer and Financial Officer, the matter was delayed.

“The audit process has already started with the visit of the concerned AGP officials to the PCB Headquarters in Lahore,” one of the official said.The PCB chairman and PSL chief executive Najam Sethi met the top AGP officials days before leaving for Ireland in a bid to know about the government requirements.

Najam Sethi had recently disclosed that the board earned $ 3 million each from first two PSL editions while the profit margin was estimated to over $ 5 million from the third edition.A two-page audit report was recently presented by the PCB with the NA IPC committee which was rejected altogether by members stressing upon comprehensive government audit. It was observed during that meeting that authentic audit from the AGP will be accepted.

The NA committee members were also interested to get an update from the PCB on PSL earning through gate money and sponsorship. According to NA Committee members estimate, the HBL alone is doling out Rs 200 million annually for PSL title sponsorship.