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LAWS OF FIJI
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CHAPTER
70
AUDIT
Ordinance
No. 4 of 1969, 32 of 1970, Act No. 36 of 1971
AN
ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL
AND FOR THE AUDITING OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES INCIDENTAL
THERETO AND CONNECTED THEREWITH
[1st March, 1969]
Short title
1.
This Act may be cited as the Audit Act.
Interpretation
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires
-
"accounting officer" includes every public officer
who is charged with the duty of collecting, receiving
or accounting for, or who in fact collects, receives or
accounts for, any public moneys or who is charged with
the duty of disbursing, or who does in fact disburse,
any public moneys, and every public officer who is charged
with the receipt, custody or disposal of, or the accounting
for, public stores or other property in the possession
of Government or who in fact receives, holds, disposes
of or accounts for public stores or other property in
the possession of Government;
*"Auditor-General" means the person appointed
as *Auditor-General or who acts as such from time to time;
"public moneys" means all revenue, loan, trust
and other moneys and all stamps, bonds, debentures and
other securities whatsoever raised or received by or on
account of the Government; and for the avoidance of doubt
includes moneys received or held on trust by the Public
Trustee, the Official Receiver or any public officer for
purposes other than the purposes of Government.
*Auditor-General
3.
- (1) The *Auditor-General shall not hold any office of
profit under the Crown other than the office of *Auditor-General.
(2) The provisions
of the law and regulations relating to the public service
shall apply to the *Auditor-General, except where such
provisions are in conflict with the provisions of the
Constitution, this Act or any other law for the time being
in force.
(Cap. 69)
Acting *Auditor-General
4.
Every person appointed to act as the *Auditor-General,
during the period he is so acting, shall have and may
exercise all the powers and authority of, and shall perform
the duties imposed upon, the *Auditor-General by the Constitution,
this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
Staff of Audit Department
5.
- (1) The staff required to assist the *Auditor-General
in the performance of his duties shall be composed of
such officers as he, with the sanction of *Parliament,
may be done by any officer of his staff so authorised
by him.
(2) Anything which
under the authority of this Act is directed to be done
by the *Auditor-General, other than the certifying and
reporting of accounts for *Parliament.
Duties of *Auditor-General
6.
- (1) The *Auditor-General shall, on behalf of *Parliament,
and in such manner as he deems necessary, examine, inquire
into and audit the accounts of all accounting officers.
(2) The *Auditor-General
shall satisfy himself -
(a)
that the accounts have been faithfully and properly
kept;
(b)
that all reasonable precautions have been taken to safeguard
the collection of public moneys and that the laws, directions
or instructions relating thereto have been duly observed.
(c)
that expenditure has been properly authorised and applied
to the purposes for which funds were appropriated
by *Parliament and has been otherwise properly accounted
for; and that the regulations and procedures applied
are sufficient to secure an effective control over expenditure,
and that it has been incurred with due regard to economy
and avoidance of waste and extravagance;
(d)
that adequate stores regulations and procedures have
been made to ensure the proper receipt, issue and custody
of stores and other property of whatsoever nature, and
that such regulations have been duly observed; and
(e)
that the provisions of the Constitution and of the Finance
(Control and Management) Act, and of any other
law relating to moneys or stores subject to his audit
have been in all respects complied with.
(Cap. 69)
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Powers of *Auditor-General
7.
- (1) In the exercise of his duties under this Act,
the *Auditor-General may -
(a)
call upon any officer for any explanation and information
he may require;
(b)
authorise any officer on his behalf to conduct any inquiry,
examination or audit, and such officer shall report
thereon to him;
Provided that any such authority shall be subject
to the concurrence of the head of the department
in which the officer concerned is employed;
(c)
without payment of any fee cause search to be made in
and extracts taken from any book, document or record
in any public office;
(d)
examine upon oath, declaration or affirmation (which
oath, declaration or affirmation the *Auditor-General
is hereby empowered to administer) all persons whom
he may think fit to examine respecting the receipt
or expenditure of money or the receipt or issue of any
stores affected by the provisions of this Act and respecting
all other matters and things whatsoever necessary
for the due performance and exercise of the duties
and powers vested in him;
(e)
lay before the Attorney-General a case in writing as
to any question regarding the interpretation of
any Act or regulation concerning the discharge of his
duties, and the Attorney-General shall give a written
opinion on such case.
(2) In the exercise
of his duties under this Act, the Auditor-General or
any person duly authorised by the him shall be entitled
-
(a)
to have access to all records, books, accounts, vouchers,
documents, cash, stamps, securities, stores or
other Government property under the control of any officer;
(b)
to send for and have the custody of any records, books,
accounts, vouchers or documents under the control
of any officer, and to keep such records, books, accounts,
vouchers or documents for such time as he or she may
require them.
(3) Any person examined
pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (d) of subsection
(1) who gives a false answer to any question put to
him or makes a false statement or any matter knowing
that answer or statement to be false or not knowing
or believing it to be true shall be deemed to be guilty
of perjury and shall be liable to be prosecuted and
punished accordingly.
Secrecy
8.-
(1) The operation of section 7 shall not be limited by
any provision (including a provision relating to secrecy)
contained in any other *Act except to the extent to which
any such other *Act expressly excludes the operation of
that section.
(2) Notwithstanding anything
contained in any other *Act and notwithstanding the making
of any oath or declaration of secrecy, a person shall
not be guilty of an offence by reason of anything done
by him for the purposes of section 7.
(3) The *Auditor-General
or any other person shall not divulge or communicate,
except in the course of duty to another person performing
duties under this Act, any information which has come
to his knowledge directly or indirectly in accordance
with the provisions of section 7 in any case in which
the person from whom such information has been obtained,
or from whose custody were produced, the accounts, books,
documents or papers from which such information was derived
could not, but for the provisions of this Act lawfully
have divulged that information to the *Auditor-General
or such other person.
(4) Subsection (3) shall
not prevent the making, divulging or communicating in
any report of the *Auditor-General of conclusions, observations
or recommendations which are based on information obtained
in accordance with the provisions of section 7.
Test audits, defective vouchers
9.
- (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 6 and
7, the *Auditor-General may, after satisfying himself
that the vouchers have been examined and certified as
correct by an accounting officer, in his discretion and
having regard to the character of the departmental examination,
in any particular case admit the sums so certified in
support of the charges to which they relate without further
examination.
(2) Where a voucher
has been lost or destroyed, or where an existing voucher
is defective in any respect, the *Auditor-General, if
satisfied with the explanation given by the responsible
officer or with other evidence of the transaction, may
dispense with the production of a voucher, or in the case
of a defective voucher, accept such voucher.
Notification of serious irregularities
10. If, at any time in the opinion of the *Auditor-General,
serious irregularities have occurred in the receipt, custody
or expenditure of public moneys or in the receipt, custody,
issue, sale, transfer or delivery of any stamps, securities,
stores or other Government property or in the accounting
for the same, he shall bring the matter to the notice
of the * Minister responsible for finance.
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Annual accounts
11.
Within a period of six months after the close of each
financial year or such longer period thereafter as *Parliament
may, by resolution, appoint, the *Minister responsible
for finance shall transmit to the *Auditor-General the
accounts and statements referred to in section 23 of the
Finance (Control and Management) Act together with such
other statements as *Parliament may from time to time
require.
Annual Report of ‘Auditor – General"
12
– ( 1) The *Auditor – General shall prepare
and transmit to the *Minister responsible for finance
for finance within a period of eight months after the
close of each financial year or such longer period thereafter
as *Parliament may, by resolution, appoint, a report upon
his examination and audit of all accounts relating to
public moneys, stamps, securities, stores and other Government
property, together with certified copies of the statements
and accounts referred to in section 11
(2) The * Minister responsible for finance shall lay upon
on the table of *Parliament within thirty days of its
receipt by him or if * Parliament. Such special report
may be made on any matter incidental to his powers and
duties under this Act.
Audit of other bodies
13. - (1) Where by under the provisions of any other law,
the *Auditor-General is appointed to audit the accounts
of any body corporate or other body established by such
law, he -
(a)
shall have, in relation to any such corporate body or
other body and its members, officers and employees, the
same discretion and powers as are conferred upon him by
sections 6 and 7 in relation to the accounts of accounting
officers;
(b)
may authorise any person publicly carrying on the profession
of accountant or any public officer to inspect, examine
or audit the books and accounts of any body which he may
be required to examine and audit pursuant to the provisions
of this section and such person or officers shall
report thereon to the *Auditor-General in such manner
as he may direct;
Provided that any such authority given to a public officer
shall be subject to the concurrence of the head
of the department in which the officer is employed.
(2) The *Auditor-General may, if so requested, audit the
accounts of any body other than those specified in subsection
(1), if, in the opinion of the *Minister responsible for
finance, the public interest so requires, and in the exercise
of his duties under this subsection the *Auditor-General
shall have the same discretion and powers as are conferred
upon him by the said subsection.
(3) Except as otherwise provided by any other law, the
*Auditor-General shall certify and may report on his examination
and audit of any account specified in subsections (1)
and (2) and, in addition, may also submit such account
and report to the *Minister responsible for finance who
shall cause them to be laid before *Parliament at the
next meeting thereof.
(4) The fee for any audit effected in accordance with
this section shall be determined by the *Auditor-General
and be charged upon the funds of the authority or body
concerned, and shall be credited to the Consolidated Revenue
Account.
Controlled
by Ministry of Finance.
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