Comptroller and Auditor General (United Kingdom)
| Comptroller and Auditor General of the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
 | |
Incumbent Gareth Davies | |
| National Audit Office | |
| Reports to | Public Accounts Commission |
| Seat | Westminster |
| Appointer | The Crown on advice of the Prime Minister |
| Term length | At Her Majesty's pleasure |
| Formation | 1866 |
| First holder | Sir William Dunbar |
The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) in the United Kingdom is the government official responsible for supervising the quality of public accounting and financial reporting. The C&AG is an officer of the House of Commons who is the head of the National Audit Office, the body that scrutinises central government expenditure.
Under the Budget Responsibility and National Audit Act 2011, the C&AG is appointed by the monarch by letters patent upon an address of the House of Commons presented by the Prime Minister with the agreement of the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, and can only be removed from office by the monarch upon an address of both Houses of Parliament.
The full title of the office is Comptroller General of the Receipt and Issue of Her Majesty's Exchequer and Auditor General of Public Accounts.
The current C&AG is Gareth Davies (not the MP).
History[]
The office of C&AG was created by the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 which combined the functions of the Comptroller General of the Exchequer (who had responsibility for authorising the issue of public monies from the Treasury to government departments) with those of the Commissioners of Audit (who had traditionally presented the government accounts to the Treasury).[1] Under the terms of the Act, the C&AG continued to authorise the issue of money to departments (the comptroller function) and was given the new task of examining departmental accounts and reporting the results to Parliament. The role has since been replicated in many Commonwealth and foreign countries.
List of Comptrollers and Auditors General[]
- 1867 - Sir William Dunbar, 7th Baronet
- 1888 - Sir Charles Lister Ryan
- 1896 - Richard Mills
- 1900 - Douglas Close Richmond
- 1904 - Sir John Arrow Kempe
- 1911 - Sir Henry James Gibson
- 1921 - Sir Malcolm Graham Ramsay
- 1931 - Sir Gilbert Charles Upcott
- 1946 - Sir Frank Newton Tribe
- 1958 - Sir Edmund Compton
- 1966 - Sir Bruce Fraser
- 1971 - Sir David Pitblado
- 1976 - Sir Douglas Henley
- 1981 - Sir Gordon Downey
- 1988 - Sir John Bourn
- 2008 - Tim Burr
- 2009 - Sir Amyas Morse
- 2019 - Gareth Davies
Devolved administrations[]
Wales[]
The Auditor General for Wales is the public official in charge of Audit Wales, the body responsible for auditing the Welsh Government and £20 billion of taxpayers' money each year. It is a statutory appointment made by Her Majesty the Queen, in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 8 to the Government of Wales Act 2006.
Scotland[]
The role of Auditor General for Scotland was held by Caroline Gardner who replaced the first Auditor General, Robert Black, in July 2012 until July 2020 when Stephen Boyle was appointed.[2]
Northern Ireland[]
The Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland is the head of the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) with responsibility for public audit in Northern Ireland.[3]
Other Comptrollers and Auditors General[]
- Bangladesh: Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh
- India: Comptroller and Auditor General of India
- Ireland: Comptroller and Auditor General (Ireland)
- Ghana: Auditor-General of Ghana
- New Zealand: Controller and Auditor-General of New Zealand
See also[]
Notes and references[]
- ^ Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866, section 5.
- ^ Audit Scotland Auditor General for Scotland Archived 2012-10-05 at the Wayback Machine accessed 25 September 2012
- ^ Comptroller and Auditor General for Northern Ireland accessed 4 March 2015
- Government accounting officials
- Government audit
- Officers of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom
- Management occupations
- Civil servants in the Audit Office (United Kingdom)