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Audit of accounts of moneys administered by or under control of Oireachtas.
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3.—(1) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall in each year—
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(a) audit the appropriation accounts for the previous financial year prepared by the Departments and submitted to him under section 22 of the Act of 1866,
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(b) in the course of the audit of such an account, carry out such audit tests as he considers appropriate to satisfy himself as to—
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(i) whether the receipts and expenditure recorded in the account are supported by substantiating documentation,
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(ii) whether the amounts expended have been applied by the Department concerned for the purposes for which the appropriation made by the Oireachtas was intended, and
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(iii) whether the transactions recorded in the account conform with the authority under which they purport to have been carried out.
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(2) If, in the course of the audit of an appropriation account, the Comptroller and Auditor General becomes of opinion that a transaction recorded therein is not properly chargeable to the account, the Comptroller and Auditor General—
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(a) shall raise the question with the accounting officer concerned and, if it is not answered to his satisfaction, he shall refer the matter to the Minister in writing and the Minister shall determine how the transaction shall be accounted for, and
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(b) may, if he considers it appropriate to do so, draw up a report in writing in relation to the transaction and the determination and cause a copy thereof to be laid before Dáil Éireann.
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(3) If it appears to the Comptroller and Auditor General that a Department has incurred any material expenditure the incurring of which required but did not receive the authorisation of the Minister, he shall report that fact in writing to the Minister and, unless the Minister, after investigation of the matter, ratifies the expenditure and so notifies the Comptroller and Auditor General, it shall be regarded as not being properly chargeable to an appropriation account and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall draw up a report on the matter in writing and cause it to be laid before Dáil Éireann.
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(4) If the Minister has reasonable cause to believe that material expenditure has been incurred by a Department which required but did not receive his authorisation, the Comptroller and Auditor General shall, if so requested by the Minister, investigate the matter and report the result of the investigation in writing to the Minister and, if, following the investigation, it appears to the Comptroller and Auditor General that such material expenditure was incurred and that it required but did not receive the authorisation of the Minister, he shall, unless the Minister ratifies the expenditure, draw up a report on the matter in writing and cause it to be laid before Dáil Éireann.
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(5) Upon the completion of his audit of an appropriation account, the Comptroller and Auditor General shall attach to the account a certificate stating whether, in his opinion, the account properly presents the receipts and expenditure of the Department concerned and refer to any material case in which—
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(a) a Department has failed to apply expenditure recorded in the account for the purpose or purposes for which the appropriations made by the Oireachtas were intended, or
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(b) transactions recorded in the account do not conform to the authority under which they purport to have been carried out.
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(6) (a) Where stocks or stores of any kind (including stocks of securities or stamps) held by a Department are of such a character or transactions in relation to them are carried out in such volume as, in the opinion of the Minister, to require the keeping of records of the stocks or stores or of the transactions, the Minister may direct the Department to keep such records in relation to the stocks or stores or the transactions, and to keep them in such form, as he may specify and the Department shall comply with such a direction.
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(b) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall carry out such examinations as he considers appropriate in order to satisfy himself as to—
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(i) whether any record kept pursuant to a direction under paragraph (a) is accurate, and
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(ii) whether the systems, procedures and practices (including the system of stock-taking) employed by the Department concerned for controlling the stocks or stores to which the record relates are adequate and whether the manner in which the systems, procedures and practices are employed and applied is adequate.
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(7) (a) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine the accounts of the receipt of revenue of the State collected by the Revenue Commissioners and the accounts of such other persons who receive money which is by law payable into the Exchequer as he considers appropriate.
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(b) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall carry out such examinations as he considers appropriate of the accounts aforesaid in order to satisfy himself as to whether they are complete and accurate.
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(c) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall carry out such examinations as he considers appropriate in order—
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(i) to ascertain whether systems, procedures and practices have been established that are adequate to secure an effective check on the assessment, collection and proper allocation of the revenue aforesaid, and
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(ii) to satisfy himself as to whether the manner in which the systems, procedures and practices have been employed and applied is adequate.
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(8) (a) For any financial year in which a Department is carrying on a manufacturing, commercial or trading undertaking, it shall, if the Minister so directs, keep, in such form as the Minister may specify or approve, a profit and loss account, a balance sheet and such other (if any) accounts as the Minister may specify.
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(b) Accounts kept pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be submitted to and audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General and he shall attach to the accounts a certificate stating whether, in his opinion, they properly present the profit or loss of the undertaking and its balances at the end of the financial year concerned.
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(9) An appropriation account, an account referred to in subsection (7) and an account referred to in subsection (8) shall be submitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General before the 1st day of April in the year following the financial year to which they relate.
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(10) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall in each year prepare a report in writing on—
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(a) such matters as he considers it appropriate to report on arising from the audits carried out by him of the appropriation accounts for the previous financial year and accounts kept pursuant to subsection (8),
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(b) such matters as he considers it appropriate to report on arising from his examinations in relation to that year or the previous financial year of the internal accounting controls operated by the Departments in order to ensure—
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(i) the regularity of their financial transactions,
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(ii) the correctness of their payments and receipts,
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(iii) the reliability and completeness of their accounting records, and
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(iv) the safeguarding of the assets owned or controlled by them,
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(c) the results of the examinations carried out by him under subsections (6) and (7) in relation to that year or the previous financial year, and
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(d) any substantial change made by him in relation to the extent or character of the audits, audit tests or examinations carried out by him under this section and the effects of any such change.
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(11) Upon the completion of the audit of the appropriation accounts or accounts kept pursuant to subsection (8) and not later than the 30th day of September in the year following the financial year to which the accounts relate or, if Dáil Éireann then stands dissolved, the date that is one week after the first meeting of the next Dáil Éireann, the Comptroller and Auditor General shall cause to be laid before Dáil Éireann copies of the accounts aforesaid together with his certificates under subsections (5) and (8) and report under subsection (10).
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(12) The Minister may by order vary one or more of the dates standing specified for the time being in subsections (9) and (11) and those subsections shall have effect in accordance with the provisions of any order under this subsection for the time being in force.
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(13) Subsections (9) and (11) shall have effect as respects financial years beginning not less than 3 months after the commencement of this section.
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