Our relationship with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is central to our role of serving the Parliament. PAC has 5 members and the current convention is that it is chaired by a member of the Opposition.
The Committee is charged with the power and responsibility to examine the public accounts of the Cayman Islands and the accounts and financial dealings of all authorities, offices and departments of Government, of all courts, and of all Government-owned companies.
In practice this means that the PAC holds meetings and hearings to discuss and take evidence on the reports of the Auditor General. At hearings the PAC take evidence from the relevant Government or Public Officers. The PAC then issues its own reports. Under the standing orders of the Parliament, the Government must reply to the Committee’s reports within three months.
Apart from the reports the OAG presents to the Parliament, the OAG looks to support the PAC by providing briefings on their reports and advice on how the PAC should handle the OAG reports.
Under the Public Management and Finance Law the PAC is also responsible for agreeing the budget of the OAG and holding it accountable for its use of resources. However in practice over recent years the OAG's budget has been set by the Ministry of Finance. The PAC also appoints the external auditor of the OAG.