24186499 Internship Report on NHA

_____________________________________NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY (NHA)

NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Roads Infrastructure plays an important role in the development of any country.

Established in 1991, National Highway Authority (NHA) is responsible for

developing, operating and maintaining the National Highway and Motorway

networks throughout Pakistan. To enhance Pakistan’s competitiveness in the

global market, to sustain the high economic growth achieved in recent years and to

make the country a hub of regional trade, NHA currently is developing a well

integrated network of Highways and Motorways. While planning the development

of roads, it also considers the well-being of individuals and businesses throughout

the country by improving reliability, quality and access of the highway network. I

had listened a lot about NHA from my friends who were already working there. In

fact, that was one of the reasons why I chose NHA for internship. Moreover, it

was easy for me to get internship over at NHA because of strong references over

there.

I started my internship with NHA from the first day of July 2009 till the last day of

August 2009. The environment there was quite new for me. Though it was not my

first exposure to the practical world as I had already done internship at Askari

Bank for 6 weeks yet the atmosphere over there was quite different from that of

private firms. My internship schedule was divided into 8 weeks, in which initial

weeks were for orientation to all of the departments and rest were spent at the

three main departments of the Finance Wing. During my whole internship, I tried

my best to put my all of the best energies and efforts to get fruitful results for the

two months time which I spent over there. And I think I was successful in

achieving my goals and objectives.

THANKS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE #Copy of Internship Letter………………………………………………I

Executive Summary……………………………………………………II

1. Introduction to National Highway Authority (NHA)……………05

NHA Background ………………………………………………05

Objectives………………………………………………………06

Organizational Structure………………………………………..06

Services of NHA……………………………………………......08

1.4.1. Services of Finance Wing……………………...................08

1.4.2. Services of Budget & Accounts Department …………….09

1.4.3. Services of Finance Department………………………….10

2. Learning & Experience…………………………………………..11

2.1. Internship Duration & Rationale for Selection…………….......11

2.2. Details of Training (Department wise)…………………….......11

2.2.1. Orientation at Budget Section ……………………………13

2.2.2. Orientation at Revenue Section…………………………..14

2.2.3. Orientation at Establishment Section…………………….15

2.2.4. Orientation & Working at GOP………………………….16

2.2.5. Orientation & Working at AP…………………………….18

2.2.6. Orientation at Computer Section………………………....20

2.2.7. Orientation & Working at Book-Keeping Section…….....20

2.2.8. Orientation at DDO Section……………………………...22

2.2.9. Orientation at CP Fund Section…………………………..22

2.3. SWOT Analysis of NHA………………………………………24

2.4. Recommendations……………………………………………..27

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Page #

Conclusion………………………………………………………….....28

References…………………………………………………………….29

Appendix………………………………………………………………30

Acknowledgements………………………………………………......32

Personal Resume…………………………………………………......33

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1. INTRODUCTION TO NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY (NHA)

National Highway Authority (NHA) is responsible for developing, operating and

maintaining the National Highway and Motorway networks throughout Pakistan. To

enhance Pakistan’s competitiveness in the global market, to sustain the high economic

growth achieved in recent years and to make the country a hub of regional trade, NHA

currently is developing a well integrated network of Highways and Motorways. While

planning the development of roads, it also considers the well-being of individuals and

businesses throughout the country by improving reliability, quality and access of the

highway network.

1.1. NHA BACKGROUND

The National Highway Authority (NHA) was established in 1991, through an Act of the

Parliament, for planning, development, operation, repair and maintenance of National

Highways and Strategic Roads specially entrusted to NHA by the Federal Government or

by a Provincial Government or other authority concerned. NHA network is comprised of

11485 Kms which is only 4.4% of Pakistan’s total road network but carries 80% of the

country’s overall commercial traffic and thus is the backbone of the economic stability

and progress of Pakistan. The passenger traffic load in Pakistan is currently shared by

roads (90%), rail (8%) and air (2%). Dependence on road for freight traffic is 95%. The

country has about 7 million vehicles on road growing at 8% annually – projected to

increase to over 40 million by 2030. Transport sector currently accounts for 11% of the

GDP and over 16% of fixed investment. In short, the road sector has become the

backbone of Pakistan’s Transport sector and NHA plays a major role in the development

of road sector.

National Highway Authority (NHA) with the intent of successful execution of its large

contracts requires that works are awarded only to firms that are suitably experienced in

the road/bridge works, that are financially and managerially sound, and that can provide

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all the equipment required in a timely manner. For this purpose, NHA carries out the

annual assessment of the capacity of firms prior to being invited to participate in open

bidding for NHA Projects.

1.2. OBJECTIVES OF NHA:

Objectives of NHA can simply be said to construct and maintain the operations of

highways and motorways of Pakistan. These all tasks require a complete planning and

organizing tactics behind to implement, develop and operate the planned projects.

Moreover, once constructed, the repairing and maintaining of the completed projects is

also amongst the objectives of NHA. In short, we can say that NHA is committed for

improving the communication and transportation infrastructure of Pakistan to promote

trade and commerce in the country.

1.3. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:

Head office of National Highway Authority is located in Islamabad, headed by a

Chairman. It is functionally divided into Planning, Administration, Finance, Operations

Wings headed by a Member each. As shown below:

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CHAIRMAN

PLANNINGWING

FINANCEWING

ADMINIST-ATIONWING

OPERATION WING


All Members are functional heads of their respective wings. They are assisted by General

Managers who are operational heads of wings. The head office controls the operation of

the Authority throughout the country. Six Regional offices, one in each provincial capital

and one in Multan known as Punjab (South) and one at Abbotabad known as Northern

Areas are headed by Regional General Mangers. Many Project offices dealing with

individual major projects as are declared by the Chairman as “Self Accounting Projects”

are headed by Regional General Managers. The structure of Finance Wing is as follows:

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Member Finance

GM (B&A) GM (Finance)

Director(Accounts-1)

Director(Accounts-II)

Director(Accounts-III)

Director(Rev. Rec)

Director (Finance)

AD(Accounts)

AP

DD(Accounts)

(AP)Vacant

DD(Accounts)(Budget)Vacant

AD(Budget)

DD(Accounts)

(GOP)Vacant

AD(Accounts)

GOP

AD(Accounts

-III)Vacant

AD(Accounts)Regional

Offices(06)

DD(Accounts

-III)Vacant

DD(RAMD)

AD(RAMD.)

AD(Accounts)Punj. Cont.

AD(Accounts)

M-1

DD(Finance)

AD (CPF)

DD(Finance)

AD(Finance)

Supdt. Supdt. Supdt. Supdt. Supdt. Supdt. Supdt. Supdt.Supdt. Supdt.

AD(Accounts)

Est. Vacant

Supdt.

DD(Accounts

(Est. & Coord)

DD(Accounts)

Regional Maint.Offices (06)01 vacant

Director (Accounts)Punjab- Construction

DD(Accounts)Punj. Cons.

Vacant

DD(Accounts)

M-1

DD(Accounts)

NHIP

AD(Accounts)

NHIPDDO

Supdt. Supdt.

AD(BK & C)

Supdt.

Accounting SpecialistIT Analyst (04)

(Under Director(Accounts)

AD(Accounts)

(M-2)

Supdt.

Director(Rev. Rec)


1.4. SERVICES OF NHA:

In the light of above stated objectives of the authority, services of NHA can be divided

into two parts:

• Construction Works

Construction works comprise of all new constructions whether of entirely new

works or of additions and alterations to existing works except as hereinafter

provided.

• Maintenance Works

Maintenance includes operations undertaken to maintain in proper condition the

completed projects of NHA.

But these basic services are delivered after complete planning at different wings of NHA.

According to my qualification i.e. MBA, I was placed in the Finance Wing of NHA. The

Finance Wing is headed by the Member Finance. In terms of the provisions of NHA Act

1991 (as amended in 2001), the Member (Finance) is also a Member of the NHA

Executive Board. Finance Wing deals with all finance, budget, revenue and accounts

related matters of NHA.

1.4.1. SERVICES OF THE FINANCE WING

Let’s have a look at the core services being offered by the Finance Wing:

• Principal policy maker of all financial matters for efficient management of

Authority’s finances and financial system

• Preparation and supervision of Authority’s budget in consultation with other

Wings

• Budgetary controls and economic utilization of Authority’s funds

• Liaison with Ministry of Communication, Ministry of Finance, Planning Division

and Economic Affairs Division for all matters concerning NHA’s Finances,

Loans, Grants and Release of Funds.

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• Co-ordination with donor agencies.

• Evaluation and processing of all bids, proposals and expression of interest for

generation of funds.

• Management of Authority’s funds and non-funds accounts

• Evaluation of proposals for enlistment / pre-qualifications of banks and insurance

companies on the approved panel of Authority.

• Pre-audit / scrutiny of administratively approved cases in respect of PSDP,

maintenance and establishment claims of all nature before disbursement as well as

their bookkeeping and accounting

• Accounting of NHA’s own receipts

• Up-gradation of computerized accounting system with technological advancement

• Audit of NHA’s accounts from Auditor General of Pakistan and commercial

auditors

• Preparation of final accounts the Authority and submission of yearly financial

statements and audit reports to NHA executive board and NHA council for

approval.

1.4.2. SERVICES OF BUDGET AND ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT

• Administration & Training of Finance Staff

• Preparation of all kind of Budgets

• Payment & Accounting of all expenses

• Payroll Processing/Establishment Accounting

• Co-ordination of Regional Accounts Offices & Self Accounting Units

• Audit Paras & Public Accounts Committee

• Co-ordination and Liaison with Ministries

• Maintenance of Books of Accounts & Audit of Financial Statements

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1.4.3. SERVICES OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT

• Management of contributory provident fund account.

• Evaluation and interpretation of the clauses of contracts and agreements

having commercial and financial implications.

• Dealing with financial aspects of BOT/PPP proposals, and private sector

financing proposals.

• Credibility evaluation of banks & insurance companies, insurance policies

bonds and guarantees.

• Evaluation of bids.

• Negotiating loans and funding proposals.

• Dealing with tax matters.

• Conduct review of NHA’s financial operations.

• Preparation of entity budget.

• Managing NHA fund and non fund accounts.

• Book keeping and preparation of accounts

• Maintenance of fixed assets records.

• Audit coordination.

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2. LEARNING & EXPERIENCE:

2.1. Internship Duration and Rationale for Selection:

My internship at NHA was for 2 months (July-August 2008) because that was summer-

off from the Institution and was the best time to utilize it in a useful way. As far as the

question is concerned, why I chose NHA, the reasons are simple and logical. Like:

• I had a strong reference over there.

• I wanted to enjoy the working experience at a public sector organization because

prior to that I had done my first internship at Askari Bank (a private firm).

• NHA offers free pick & drop service for its employees.

• Along with my co-internee friend, I had some more friends there who were

already providing their services to NHA.

• At that time, I was of the opinion to choose Finance as my majors (which was

changed later on) and NHA was one of the best options to do internship.

2.2. Details of Training (Department wise)

When I applied for the internship at NHA, a schedule was given to me by my mentor Mr.

Ahmed Hassan. This schedule was as follows:

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Schedule of Internship Program

This schedule was circulated amongst all of the 8 departments, by addressing to the ADs

of the departments. A copy of this circular is attached at end of the report as annexure.

ORIENTATION:

In order to give me an introduction and overview of the organization, an orientation

session was described in the schedule. Due to the policies of the organization, only

orientation was designed for six departments of the Finance Wing i.e., Budget Section,

Revenue Section, Establishment, Computer Section, DDO Section and CP Fund Section.

However, my main internship work was scheduled at Government of Pakistan (GOP)

Section, Aided Projects (AP) Section and the Book-Keeping & Consolidation Section.

The explanation about this orientation and internship work is explained as under:

2.2.1. ORIENTATION AT BUDGET SECTION:

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SECTION FROM TO

Budget 01st July, 2008 05h July, 2008

Revenue 07th July, 2008 12th July, 2008

Establishment 14th July, 2008 19th July, 2008

GOP 21st July, 2008 26th July, 2008

Aided Projects 28th July, 2008 02nd August, 2008

Computer Section 04th August, 2008 09th August, 2008

Book-Keeping & Consolidation 11th August, 2008 16th August, 2008

DDO 18th August, 2008 23rd August, 2008

CP Fund 25th August, 2008 30th August, 2008


During the orientation session at the Budget Section, I was told that the section is

responsible for preparing the budgets for the authority. This section estimates the

revenues and expenses for the financial year and makes budgets for the coming period.

These budgets can be categorized as development and non-development budgets. The

explanations of these budgets are as follows:

a. Development Budget:

Development Budget (also known as Capital Budget) is made out of the funds granted

(on annual basis) by the Federal Government for development of roads. The amount for

this budget is determined on the basis of estimates made by Planning and Operations

Wings. After this, the data is compiled and sent to Chairman for the approval. If

approved, the budget estimates are sent to Ministry of Communication where Financial

Adviser examines the estimates. Before the budgets are finalized, a meeting is held which

is attended by the representatives of Planning & Development Division, Finance Division

and Economic Affairs Division. The estimates recommended by this committee are

discussed in APCC (Annual Plan Coordination Committee) meeting which is chaired by

the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Finally, these estimates are submitted in the Parliament

for approval.

b. Non-Development Budget:

Non-Development Budget can be further categorized into these two subcategories:

1. Maintenance Budget

2. Establishment Budget

Maintenance Budget:

This is the budget which is required for the maintenance of existing completed

highways and motorways, constructed by NHA. Maintenance Directorate of NHA

is requested to prepare Budget estimates and submit it to NHA budget section of

Finance Wing. Budget section compiles the estimates and submits the same to

Ministry of Communication (MOC). After due consideration in MOC, the same is

forwarded to Ministry of Finance (MOF) for approval. Finance Division allocates

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the funds for maintenance grant and MOC releases these funds to NHA on

quarterly basis.

Establishment Budget:

Administration Wing of NHA is requested to provide details of 252 core posts of

NHA upon the request of Budget Section. Budget section prepares and compiles

the budget estimates for the posts and submits it to MOC and the same is

forwarded to MOF for approval. Finance Division allocates the funds for the

establishment charges under MOC 252 core posts. Again MOC releases these

funds to NHA on quarterly basis.

2.2.2. ORIENTATION AT REVENUE SECTION:

The second week of my internship was scheduled for the orientation to Revenue Section

of Finance Wing. I was told that the main function of revenue section is to collect

revenues for NHA. In addition, it also makes payments for repair & maintenance of roads

as per maintenance plan devised by Road Assets Management Directorate (RAMD). So,

this Revenue Section can be categorized into two sub-sections i.e., Receipts & Payments.

Receipts Section:

As the name specifies, this section is responsible to collect revenues for NHA. The

main sources of revenue generation are toll receipts, rent from hotels, rent from

petrol/CNG stations, hoardings and advertisements, sale proceeds of NHA assets,

tender documents fees, taxes and police fines etc. These revenues are collected

through contractors like NLC, FWO etc. These contractors receive revenues from the

service users and deposit it into the account of NHA by the name of ‘Road

Maintenance Account (RMA)’. These deposits can be made on daily, weekly,

monthly or quarterly basis (as per the contract’s requirement).

Payment Section:

Payment Section makes all payments regarding repairing and maintenance of the

roads. The payments are made for routine maintenance, periodic maintenance,

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emergency maintenance and geometric maintenance. The section makes

arrangements for Mobilization Advance, Secured Advance, Interim Payments

Certificate (IPC) and final payment to contractors and consultants as per contract

requirements. The Section is also responsible for transferring funds to Regional

Offices on their demand, according to their shares, for maintenance of roads.

2.2.3. ORIENTATION AT ESTABLISHMENT SECTION:

The next scheduled department for my orientation was the Establishment Section. This

section deals with payments of salaries, allowances and other personal benefits of NHA

employees. Expenditures of establishment section are met through NHA Establishment

Grant and 1% Special Allocation.

NHA Establishment Grant:

NHA Establishment Grant is allocated for the salary payments and allowances of

permanent employees of NHA. This grant comes from the Ministry of

Communication. These permanent employees are 252 in number who are getting

their salaries out of this grant.

1% Special Allocation:

1% Special Allocation is the source of making salary and allowances payment of

those employees who are working for NHA on contract basis. These employees

are hired according to the projects initiated by NHA. It is called 1% because in

actual it is the one percent of all the funds allocated to NHA from MOC.

2.2.4. ORIENTATION & WORKING AT GOP SECTION:

Fourth week of my internship was scheduled for GOP section. ‘GOP’ stands for

‘Government of Pakistan’ Section. At this section, I was not only supposed to be oriented

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by also to do some practical work. At the very first day of the fourth week, the orientation

session was held, in which I was briefed by Mr. Tareen Baloch (AD) about the functions

and operations of the GOP section.

This section deals with all accounts and finance related matters of those projects which

are directly or indirectly funded by the Government of Pakistan. This is one of the most

important sections of NHA as more than 50% of NHA projects are financed by

Government of Pakistan. So, one can imagine the level of work and commitment needed

in this section. Whenever a project is started, total project cost is estimated and planned

by the planning wing. These projects become part of Annual Development Program and

Federal Government allocates funds in annual budget. For completion of these projects,

tenders are called from pre-qualified contractors and the project goes to the contractor

who comes up with the lowest bid.

GOP section is responsible to make payments to contractors and consultants as:

• Mobilization Advance,

• Secured Advance,

• Interim Payment Certificate and

• Final Payment as per contract’s terms and conditions

These advances are not given to the contractors until and unless they give securities in the

form of Bank Guarantees to NHA. All payment bills are singed by Project Consultant and

Project Resident Engineer/ Project Director and are send to General Manager concerned,

who, after certification, sends those bills to General Manager (Operations). The General

Manager (Operations) gets approval of Member Operations and forwards the bill to

Finance Wing.

From the second day of my schedule at GOP Section, I got started to work. The tasks I

performed in GOP section included establishment work, imprest, consultancy works and

contractors related works.

• Establishment Work:

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Establishment work at GOP Section is related with almost all other accounts sections

of NHA. It covers all the expenses related to employees’ salaries, allowances and

personal benefits including medical expenses, house hiring, conveyance charges,

utility charges etc. In this regard, I learnt how to make vouchers for medical

expenses, house hiring, overtime and utility expenses etc. These vouchers were made

in the General Ledger (GL) Software by entering the employee’s name, employee

number, amount, debit/credit distinction and explanation for the expense. Mr. Shahid

(Trainee) helped me a lot in using and entering the data into this software.

• Imprest:

By imprest we mean that amount which is sent to regional offices of NHA from the

Head Office Islamabad. This is called imprest because this amount is sent to meet the

day-to-day expenses of the regional offices. Expenditures are made at the regional

offices and expenditure statements sent to the head office, which are checked and

verified at head office. I learnt how to verify those expenses with the reference

documents which were sent as evidence for the expenses incurred. These reference

documents can be used mobile cards, paid-bills etc. After verification, the next step

was to enter those expenses in their respective accounts on imprest portion GL

Software.

• Consultancy Work:

NHA hires consultants to supervise the work of the contractors. Consultants submit

their invoices on monthly basis. The consultants’ invoice must contain the following:

- Request Letter

- Staff attendance sheet

- Monthly invoice with proposed contractual rates

- Affidavit regarding staff salary payments

- Certificate ensuring validation of the Securities

- Documents regarding Design Cell (if required)

In the regard of Consultancy Work, I was supposed to check the invoices

arithmetically and to make sure that all the requirements have been fulfilled by the

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consultant. I also used to prepare the vouchers for payment to the consultant. This

was one of the toughest tasks assigned to me, so I consulted Mr. Tareen again and

again to avoid any mistakes and error in it. He always welcomed me and answered

my queries very politely.

• Contractors’ Work:

After consultancy, I moved to the contractors’ works. In fact, I had nothing to do in

this regard but just to understand the whole process that how tenders are given to the

contractors, how bidding is conducted and how the contractor with the lowest bid is

assigned the tender.

2.2.5. ORIENTATION & WORKING AT AP SECTION:

My fifth scheduled week of internship at NHA was for AP Section. ‘AP’ stands for

‘Aided Projects’. As the name denotes, this section deals with those projects which are

funded by foreign donor agencies. Major donor agencies include World Bank, UNDP,

Asian Development Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation etc. Financing

by these agencies can either be direct or indirect:

Direct Financing:

In direct financing because NHA directly negotiates with foreign donor agencies

and signs agreement for loans. There is no third party involved in this type of

financing.

Indirect Financing:

The Government of Pakistan obtains loans from donor agencies and gives it to

NHA for utilization. All terms & conditions relevant to withdrawal, utilization

and repayment of these loans are set at the time of agreement. Handbooks are

provided for detailed procedures by the agencies.

I worked in Aided Projects Section for 6 days. The first day was scheduled for orientation

session, in which I was told about the functions and operations of the AP Section. I found

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the working in AP Section and GOP Section almost the same. The vital difference was

that in GOP the projects were funded by the Government whereas in AP, all projects are

aided projects. So, the work in these two sections was almost the same. Consultants’

invoices, contractors’ bills, etc are processed in the same way as they were processed in

the GOP Section. This section also deals with the establishment of the employees

working on the projects dealt in this section. Foreign currency is also involved in the

projects dealt in Accounts Section AP i.e. the payment is made in both local and foreign

currencies. What I did in the AP Section were arithmetic verification of measurement

books and maintenance of cash books:

• Arithmetic Verification Of Measurement Books:

In AP Section, the main task assigned to me was the arithmetic verification of

quantities and rates in the measurement books which were already recorded by an

engineer of the project. In those books he provided the original cost of the contract,

the measurement date, mobilization advance and secured advances paid and

recovered validity of the bank guarantees etc. I was supposed to arithmetically check

the rates and quantities recorded in those measurement books. After satisfied

verification, tax was charged and retention money was mentioned along with the

details. After that the vouchers were prepared for the payments of the bill.

• Maintenance of Cash Books:

In the last days of my fifth week at AP Section, I learnt to maintain the cash books of

a few projects. I have to record the voucher details in the cash books, in a specific

format. This activity was done at the end of each month and as it was the end of July,

so I encountered it in the AP Section. Other than writing the cash books, I used to

reconcile them with the electronic cash books generated by GL Accounting system.

2.2.6. ORIENTATION AT COMPUTER SECTION:

This was my sixth week at NHA and after the AP Section my next destination was

Computer Section of Finance Wing. Mr. Jamil (IT-Analyst) gave me a brief overview of

the functions of this section. He explained that Computer Section is responsible for the

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development and operations of the computerized accounting software being run in the

Finance Wing. This is the smallest section of the Finance Wing, consisting of only 3

employees. They all are well-educated and have deep knowledge about the latest

technologies and innovations regarding IT. General Ledger (GL) System is the result of

in-house development by NHA employees of Computer Section. They always welcome

the complaints and suggestions from the other sections for the improvement GL System

and changes after proper approval from the competent authority. All departments of the

NHA Head Quarters are interconnected by a centralized Local Area Network (LAN)

System. Every employee who is the user of the system has been given a Login ID and

Password that is a precautionary measure to safeguard against un-authorized access to the

system. User’s authorization to different tasks of the system is defined and proper checks

are applied to ensure that right authority is accessed by the right person.

2.2.7. ORIENTATION & WORKING AT BOOK-KEEPING &

CONSOLIDATION SECTION:

After Computer Section, my schedule directed me to the next section which was Book-

Keeping & Consolidation Section. This section is also one of the main sections of the

Finance Wing and contains information regarding each and every transaction being done

in the entire organization. This section is responsible for preparing the final accounts of

NHA after receiving the Trial Balances from all other sections of the Finance Wing and

all Regional Offices. Here accounts are consolidated on monthly basis and each month

the consolidated financial statements (Income & Expenditure Statement, Balance Sheet

and Cash Flow Statement) are prepared and updated.

Coordinating with the external auditors is also the responsibility of this section.

Whenever the audit team is having any query regarding any issue of the whole Finance

Wing, it is the Book-Keeping and Consolidation Section which jumps in to answer the

query and to satisfy the audit objections. Like Computer Section, this is also a small

section comprised of few but competent employees. Most of them are CA or ACCA. In

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this section, I was supposed to prepare expenditure statements as well as reconciling

inter-office statements:

• Preparing Expenditure Statements:

First of all I learnt how to prepare the expenditure statements. This was one of the

toughest tasks for me throughout my internship period because it required complete

concentration as well as a lot of time. Even though, I tried my level best and prepared

the expenditure statements for budget expenses. Whenever the amount is allocated

from the MOC, it comes to NHA in te form of budget. In this budget, each

expenditure head is given a budget code to which a specific amount is allocated from

the budget. While preparing the expenditure statement, the concerned authority

assigns the budget code to each transaction in the journal book. On the basis of these

codes, I compared the expenditure made under a certain budget code with the budget

allocated against that code. I was asked to take all non-bank accounts of the journal

book and all bank accounts of the cash book and match them. It was mandatory that

the net amount in both books must match with each other. Otherwise, there is some

problem in the entry, which has to be resolved after complete checking of accounts.

• Inter Office Statements Reconciliation:

Another task performed by me in the Book-Keeping and Consolidation Section was

the inter office statements reconciliation. Reconciliation starts with the trial balance.

Firstly, I learnt to check the nature of the balance of each account head. After that, it

is made sure that the nature of the balance matches the nature of account. E.g. if it’s

an asset head it should have a debit balance, if it’s a liability head it should have a

credit balance. If the nature of balance does not match with the nature of account, I

was supposed to find out the possible reasons why the nature of balance and the

nature of account are mismatched. Though it was a tough job yet I concerned my

mentor again and again to find out the discrepancies and to complete my job

successfully.

2.2.8. ORIENTATION AT DDO SECTION:

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My second last destination according to my internship schedule was the orientation at

DDO Section (or the Cash Section). ‘DDO’ stands for ‘Drawings and Disbursement

Office’.I was given a brief overview about section by the mentor. The responsibility of

this section is basically the funds management. Whenever any type of disbursements to

employees, contractors, consultants or suppliers is made, cheques are issued by this

section. When a payment voucher is received from any section, cash section prepares

crossed cheque for the amount and enters the date and serial number of the cheque on the

voucher using GL System. Before making the payment, budget under the head is

checked. If budget is not available under the head, approval of the competent authority is

taken before issuing the cheque for the payment. Similarly, Receipts vouchers are

prepared by cash section. The section maintains accounts with banks and reconciles cash

books with bank statements on monthly basis. This section also arranges inter-bank

transfers of funds as and when required. As the cash books are maintained in this section,

so the bank reconciliations are also prepared by the same section.

2.2.9. ORIENTATION AT CP FUND SECTION:

My last week was scheduled as the orientation at the Cumulative Provident (CP) Fund

Section. CP Fund Section is given the responsibility of maintaining the information

regarding contributions, deductions and balances of the CP Fund accounts of each

permanent employee of NHA. CP Fund is the form of a saving facility given as

incentives to the employees. Contributions to this fund are made out of both NHA

budgets as well as employee’s monthly salary. These contributions are made on fifty-fifty

basis and sum of the contributions is handed over to the employee in case if he/she got

retired, injured or died (in last case amount will be handed over to the dependents of died

employee). In case, if the employee is willing to withdraw some amount out of this fund,

he/she can take that but upto a certain limit. This limit is assigned by the concerned

authorities depending upon the tenure and age of the employee. The section is responsible

for handling these funds as well answering to the employees if they are having any

queries regarding their accounts and balances.

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2.3. SWOT ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY:

During my 2 months internship at National Highway Authority Head Office, I tried my

best to observe the organization from third person’s point of view. According to my

observations, I noticed a few of internal Strengths and Weaknesses and some

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Opportunities and Threats for NHA from the external environment. Let’s have a look at

each of them:

STRENGTHS:

• NHA is having a monopoly in construction and development of highways and

motorways of Pakistan.

• The working environment for employees at NHA is much better than most of

other public sector organizations.

• NHA has a strong commitment and a relationship of trust with the leading

contractors like NLC, FWO etc.

• Sources of revenues are huge in number for NHA like through toll taxes,

restaurant rents, advertising fees, police fines etc.

• NHA is having in-house computerized GL Software which is being operated

successfully on the entire organization and creating a platform for the unified data

storage and retrieving.

• Despite resource constraints NHA has successfully completed several mega

projects.

• The building of NHA Head Office is beautiful master piece and contains all of the

modern facilities in it.

• NHA is having a road network of only 4.4% of Pakistan’s total road network but

carries 80% of the country’s overall commercial traffic and thus is the backbone

of the economic stability and progress of Pakistan.

• NHA is having a strong support from Ministries of Communication and Finance.

• Free pick & drop service for the employees.

WEAKNESSES:

• Favoritism practices are common amongst the entire organization.

• During my internship period, I came across a lot of corruption cases incurred by

employees at different levels of the organization.

• Lack of punctuality amongst the NHA employees.

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• There is no visible evidence of successful leadership in the organization.

• Leg pulling of colleagues is a common practice.

• Female employees are very rare which makes NHA Head Office as male-

dominated organization and hence reduce the competition.

• Office assets of the organization are misused. For example, computers are mostly

used for playing games and other things.

• Behavior of most of the employees towards the female employees is very rude.

• Employees’ getup and way of dressing is quite different from the elegant building

setup. Most of the employees come to office untidy and in rough form.

• There is no cafeteria for employees and they have to go to nearby restaurants for

their lunch.

• There is no common room for female employees to offer their prayers and other

tasks.

• Files and records of old projects are placed roughly in the godown, without any

proper mechanism.

OPPORTUNITIES:

• NHA can help in increasing the FDI of Pakistan by attracting more foreign

contractors to start their operations in Pakistan.

• NHA can convert its Trainees (who are young and more talented) from contract

employees to permanent employees.

• Awareness through a strong advertising campaign should be created amongst the

people to protect the plants and trees besides the roads and follow the rules and

regulations of the roads.

THREATS:

• Increasing terrorism and blasts can destroy the completed and/or in-progress

projects of NHA.

• Monopoly of NHA can be affected if government allows other authorities to start

the operations related to construction of roads and communication means.

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• Privatization can also be a threat for those employees who just enjoy leisure and

time pass from their jobs at NHA.

• Natural disasters like Tsunami or Katrina can destroy the highways and

motorways and can require a huge costs for reconstruction.

2.4. RECOMMENDATIONS:

Though 2 months are not enough to understand and give suggestions for the improvement

of an organization yet I will recommend these points on the basis of my observations:

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• Leadership should be strong and changed after a fixed period of time. This will

reduce the stagnancy amongst the operations of NHA and will remove the

biasness from the organization.

• Attendance through technological means should be taken in order to make the

employees punctual and responsible.

• Proper dress code of employees should be determined, in order to give a proper

look of an office environment.

• Computers and other costly equipments should be granted only to those

employees who are competent and can use them in the proper way.

• Most of the work done at the Finance Wing is through the Trainees who are

working for very limited salary packages. According to observation, all of them

are educated and well-mannered. So, if their salaries are increased or if they are

accepted as the permanent employees, they will definitely put their more extra

energies to get their work done.

• Audit should be done twice or thrice a year to reduce the corruption and frauds as

well as to increase the check and balance over the employees.

• Quota for female employees should be increased in order to increase the morale

of already working females as well as to increase the competition amongst the

employees.

• A cafeteria must be opened within the premises of head office so that time

wastage of employees for lunch break should be reduced.

CONCLUSION

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I found NHA as one of the better organizations as compared to rest of the public sector

organizations. It has rendered a lot of services to Pakistan and the Pakistani People by

enhancing the infrastructure for trade and communication in the country. It is one of

those organizations which can become benchmark for others if just it makes few changes

in its operations and practices. Verbally, the functions of NHA can be categorized as

construction and maintenance of highways and motorway. But in my opinion, it is

providing a platform for the economic progress and stability in the country.

While doing internship at NHA, I got able to equip myself with the experience of

practical life and especially the learning of working in a public sector organization. I

think, I was successfully able to gain sufficient knowledge of office work which will help

me throughout my career to polish my capabilities and to work for my prospective

employer in a proper way.

REFERENCES

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• NHA Codes 2005

• NHA Finance Manual

• NHA Establishment Code 2007

• NHA Annual Report 2007

• www.nha.gov.pk

• Direct Interaction and Learning from:

- My Mentor Mr. Ahmad Hassan (AD – Accounts AP)

- Mr. Khurram (Trainee – Establishment Section)

- Mr. Atif (Trainee – Establishment Section)

- Mr. Shahid (Trainee – GOP Section)

- Ms. Zainab Ashfaq (Senior Trainee Accounts Officer)

APPENDICES

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• Schedule of Internship Program

• List of Mega Projects of GOP & AP Sections

LIST OF MEGA PROJECTS OF GOP SECTION:

• LRTP (Lowari Rail Tunnel Project)

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• MCHP (Makran Coastal Highway Project)

• LEP (Liyari Expressway Project)

• IMDC (Islamabad Murree Dual Carriage way)

• N-65 (Sukkar Sibi Quetta Project)

• Torkham Jalalabad Project

• Kharian Rawalpindi Project

• Mansehra Naran Jalkhad Project

LIST OF MEGA PROJECTS OF AP SECTION:

• KNBP (Karachi Northern By-pass Project)

• KTP (Kohat Tunnel project)

• M-8 ( Gawadar Ratodero Project)

• Karachi Chamman Project

• Peshawar Torkham Project

• IHP (Indus Highway Project)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and supreme power is Allah the most beneficent who gave me the power and knowledge to complete my task successfully.

I am thankful to my institute, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology that gave me the opportunity to apply my skills in a professional environment. I am also thankful to Finance Wing, National Highway Authority.

I am very grateful to my Mentor Mr. Ahmad Hassan (AD – Accounts AP) for his guidance and support throughout my internship tenure.

In addition, the compilation of this report would not have been possible without the support and contribution of Mr. Khurram Ayaz and Mr. Atif (Trainees – Establishment Section). I would also like to thank my family who encouraged me through out my internship.

May Allah give me the serenity to fulfill my commitments. (AAMIN)

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24186499 Internship Report on NHA

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