Who we are accountable to

The Auditor General is accountable to the Legislative Assembly for the performance of the OAG, both in terms of meeting its mandate and its use of resources. As an independent officer of the Legislative Assembly, the Auditor General, and by extension his Office, are not accountable to the Government, either in terms of the work they carry out or the resources they use to deliver their work.

The accountability to the Legislative Assembly is exercised through the PAC, to whom the Auditor General reports the outcomes of his audit work. Under the constitution the Auditor General is required to make at least two reports a year to the Legislative Assembly on his work, and under the PMFL he is required to make one general report a year on the outcomes from his audits.

The provisions for setting the budget of the OAG, and the submission of the OAG's annual report and audited financial statements, are clearly set out in sections 66 to 69 of the PMFL. The PAC, and not the Government, is responsible for:

• discussing and agreeing with Auditor General the budget for the OAG;
• granting appropriations to the OAG; and
• submitting them to the Ministry of Finance for inclusion in the Annual Budget and Estimates. 

However, in practice the Ministry of Finance rather than the PAC has set the budget and the appropriations for the OAG in recent years. This issue, along with the application of some of the provisions in the PMFL and the PSML, enable Government to constrain the financial and operational independence of the OAG, if it wishes, through the withholding of resources, reinforcing perceptions both within and outside Government that we are in fact a part of Government and not independent. Our strategic plan - Making a Difference - has as one of its strategic objectives the need to enhance the independence of the OAG to ensure its financial and operational independence from Government.

The Auditor General is required to submit the OAG's Annual Report, including the audited financial statements to the PAC by 31 October each year for their scrutiny. The OAG's financial statements require to be audited by independent auditors appointed by PAC. The OAG's current auditors are PwC. The PAC subsequently table the OAG's Annual Report in the Legislative Assembly at which time it becomes a public document. The most recent Annual Report is available at the following link  Annual report 2009/10