Comptroller and Auditor General

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Comptroller and Auditor General is the abbreviated title of a government official in a number of states, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, India, and China. The unabbreviated title is Comptroller General of the Receipt and Issue of Her Majesty's Exchequer and Auditor General of Public Accounts. Other jurisdictions use the similar titles Comptroller General or Auditor General to refer to a similar office. The Control Yuan of Taiwan is also similar.

The role was first created in the United Kingdom by the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 which combined the functions of the Comptroller of the Exchequer, (who had authorised the issue of public monies to departments since 1834) with those of the Commissioners of Audit, (who had traditionally presented the government accounts to the Treasury). Under the terms of the act the Comptroller and Auditor General 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 former commonwealth states, and separately adopted by China in the 1960's.

In the Republic of Ireland the Comptroller and Auditor General is an officer, established by the constitution, who audits all disbursements and accounts of moneys administered by or under the authority of the Oireachtas.

In the United Kingdom the Comptroller and Auditor General is an officer of the House of Commons who is the head of the National Audit Office, the body that scrutinises central government expenditure. The current C&AG is Sir John Bourn KCB.