An interoperability has been established between the electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) system of Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA), and the Document Verification System (DVS) developed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB).

The formal inauguration of this digital integration was held on 22 December 2024, in the ICAB auditorium in the capital. ICAB hosted the event. On the same occasion, interoperability between the DVS and the Name Clearance Portal of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms was also launched.

The Secretary of the ICT Division, Mr. Shish Haider Chowdhury, attended the event as the chief guest, while the former CEO of BPPA, Mr. Mohammed Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury, was present as a special guest. Among other distinguished guests were the current CEO of BPPA, Mr. Mirza Ashfaqur Rahman, Registrar of the Office of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, Mr. Md. Mizanur Rahman, ICAB President Mr. Forkan Uddin FCA, and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Shubhashish Bose.

A presentation on the system integration was delivered by ICAB Senior Deputy Director and Head of IT Division Mr. Delwar Hossain FCA. He explained that bidders are required to submit audited financial statements during tender submission. However, there have been complaints of discrepancies, irregularities, and difficulties in this process.

Previously, procuring entities manually verified these documents. With the interoperability in place, these documents will be verified online through e-GP system sitting in the offices. Financial statements certified by DVS will include QR codes.

Upon receiving financial statements with QR codes, procuring entities can verify their authenticity through the e-GP system, using automated procedures to check with DVS. This will eliminate any opportunity to submit forged documents.

Speakers at the event noted that the submission of accurate, authentic, and unique financial statements will not only increase government revenue but also enhance financial discipline, thereby accelerating the country's economic development.

To date, approximately 123,000 bidders have registered with the e-GP system.

Shish Haider Chowdhury said, ICAB is working to maintain accountability in accounting. Bangladesh is still struggling in ICT sector. ICAB has been leading in establishing inter-operability. More focus should be given on establishing MoUs for digital integration with more organizations.

Urging ICAB for preparing an ICT roadmap, he said, the ICT Division will be always stay beside ICAB and provide it all kinds of supports.

Mirza Ashfaqur Rahman said, e-GP has earlier established inter-operability with NID, iBAS++, and e-PMIS. With the integration with DVS, now e-GP System has become more capable to ensure transparency and accountability.

With inclusion of too many tenderers in the database of the e-GP System, there will be increased pressure on monitoring the tendering procedure and inter-operability of the system will help conduct such mammoth tasks easily through the system.

“We dream of setting such a system where concerned stakeholders will not need to operate manually,” mentioned BPPA CEO.

Shoheler Rahman said, as a professional organization, ICAB has been playing a significant role in business promotion in the country. BPPA developed a mechanism to ensure inter-operability with various systems.

The ICAB president said, financial audits will now be more authentic through this digital module developed by the ICAB. This has checked fraudulence in financial audits. This has also ensured a level playing field in the business. DVS has been so far integrated with most of the major organizations like NBR. He mentioned new integration with e-GP will play significant role in ensuring transparency in public procurement. Integration with the e-GP System is another landmark success of the DVS, he mentioned.