The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal government of the United States. It identifies its core "mission values" as: accountability, integrity, and reliability. It is also known as the "congressional watchdog". The agency is headed by the Comptroller General of the United States. The comptroller general is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate. When a vacancy occurs in the office of the comptroller general, Congress establishes a commission to recommend individuals to the president. The commission consists of the following:
An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing also attempts to ensure that the books of accounts are properly maintained by the concern as required by law. Auditors consider the propositions before them, obtain evidence, roll forward prior year working papers, and evaluate the propositions in their auditing report.
The National Audit Office (NAO) is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The NAO also carries out value for money (VFM) audits into the administration of public policy.
Performance audit refers to an independent examination of a program, function, operation or the management systems and procedures of a governmental or non-profit entity to assess whether the entity is achieving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the employment of available resources. The examination is objective and systematic, generally using structured and professionally adopted methodologies.
Internal control, as defined by accounting and auditing, is a process for assuring of an organization's objectives in operational effectiveness and efficiency, reliable financial reporting, and compliance with laws, regulations and policies. A broad concept, internal control involves everything that controls risks to an organization.
An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations.
An environmental audit is a type of evaluation intended to identify environmental compliance and management system implementation gaps, along with related corrective actions. In this way they perform an analogous (similar) function to financial audits. There are generally two different types of environmental audits: compliance audits and management systems audits. Compliance audits tend to be the primary type in the US or within US-based multinationals.
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) is the supreme audit institution of Australia, functioning as the national auditor for the Parliament of Australia and Government of Australia. It reports directly to the Australian Parliament via the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. Administratively, the ANAO is located in the Prime Minister and Cabinet portfolio.
State auditors are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financial controllers, bookkeepers, or inspectors general of public funds. The office of state auditor may be a creature of the state constitution or one created by statutory law.
The Controller and Auditor-General is an Officer of the New Zealand Parliament responsible for auditing public bodies. John Ryan began his seven-year term as Controller and Auditor-General on 2 July 2018. The Deputy Controller and Auditor-General is Andrew McConnell. Their mandate and responsibilities are set out in the Public Audit Act 2001. They are appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of Representatives.
The Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), commonly referred to as the "Yellow Book", are produced in the United States by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) is an intergovernmental organization whose members are supreme audit institutions. Nearly every supreme audit institution in the world is a member of INTOSAI. Depending on the type of system used in their home country, the members of INTOSAI may be variously titled the Chief Financial Controller, the Office of the Comptroller General, the Office of the Auditor General, the Court of Accounts, or the Board of Audit.
EUROSAI - European Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions - is one of the seven regional working groups of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).EUROSAI comprises 50 members: Supreme Audit Institutions of 49 countries and the European Court of Auditors.
A supreme audit institution is an independent national-level institution which conducts audits of government activities. Most supreme audit institutions are established in their country's constitution, and their mandate is further refined in national legislation. Supreme audit institutions play an important role in providing oversight and accountability in a country by monitoring the use of public funds and reviewing the quality and accuracy of government financial reporting. They also contribute to anti-corruption efforts. Depending on the country, a supreme audit institution may be called a court of audit, auditor-general or the board of audit. Nearly every supreme audit institution in the world is a member of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions, which works to establish and disseminate international standards and good practices.
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh (C&AG) is the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of the country. Like the SAIs in many other countries across the world the institution is established by the Constitution of Bangladesh. This institute is responsible for maintaining accounts of the republic and audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of Bangladesh, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The reports of the CAG are discussed by the Public Accounts Committee, which is a standing committee in the Parliament of Bangladesh.
Vijayendra Nath Kaul was the tenth Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) from 2002 to 2008. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2014.
The State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia is a public auditing body overseeing the finances of national and local government in Latvia. It was first created in 1918, and re-established in 1992 when Latvia again became independent.
The Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Supreme Audit Institutions (OLACEFS) is an international, autonomous, independent, apolitical and permanent organization. Its origins can be traced back to the First Congress of Latin American Supreme Audit Institutions - CLADEFS - held in 1963 in Caracas, Venezuela, in response to the need for a forum for exchanging ideas and experiences relating to government control, and for promoting cooperation and development between supreme audit institutions. At the Congress it was recommended that a Latin American Institute of Fiscal Control be created to carry out specialized research and serve as a center for information, education, coordination and mutual assistance between audit institutions.
The INTOSAI Development Initiative is a body of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) which supports capacity development of supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in developing countries. Founded in 1986, the organization was headquartered in Canada until 2001, when it moved to Norway. It is currently hosted by the Office of the Auditor General of Norway.
The Ghana Audit Service is an independent government agency in Ghana that is responsible for carrying out the audits on the accounts of the Government, Regions as well as the activities of the Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Companies under the Government of Ghana. Both the Office of the Auditor-General of Ghana and the Ghana Audit Service were established by the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. Internationally, the equivalent of the Ghana Audit Service is referred to as the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI). The International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) is the international board that oversees and creates benchmark for auditing public entities for all Supreme Audit Institutions including Ghana who are also members.
