Asking the CAG' s office to shun this practice, the minister said it should concentrate more on important issues. Insignificant reports are now highlighted in newspapers which publish those without proper scrutiny, he thought.

"Sitting at its headquarters in Berlin, the Transparency International (TI) later compiles these newspaper reports that form the basis of TI's list of most corrupt nations," Saifur said.

The minister was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a high profile regional auditors general conference on 'Harmonising institutional efforts for promoting accountability in the public sector' in Dhaka.

The office of the CAG in association with the World Bank and Canadian International Development Agency (Cida) organised the two-day conference being held at a local hotel.

Thirty delegates including a number of auditors general from the Saarc and other countries in the region are attending the conference.

Underscoring good governance to ensure transparency and accountability at all levels of administration, Saifur said development work greatly suffers due to lack of good governance.

Bangladesh has one of the most transparent and accountable democratic orders in the world but it is not reflected in newspaper reports, he said.

World Bank Country Director in Bangladesh Christine I Wallich said poor management and fund wastage are the key factors hindering development work.

The government of Bangladesh does not give much importance to reports prepared by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), a parliamentary body responsible for auditing the public sector expenditure, she said.

Abdul Mannan, a member of the committee, echoed Wallich's comment and said, "The PAC reports should be debated in parliament."

Mannan, also a chartered accountant, stressed harmonisation among auditing professionals, who include CAG's office staff, chartered accountants and cost management accountants.

Riazur Rahman Chowdhury, professor of accounting and information system at Dhaka University, presented a keynote paper on the conference theme.

Other speakers included Zakir Ahmed Khan, finance secretary; Asif Ali, comptroller and auditor general of Bangladesh; Robert Beadle, head of development cooperation of Cida, and Osama Jaffar Faquih, president of general auditing bureau of Saudi Arabia.