Audit Mandate and Mission

The Bermuda Constitution Order and the Audit Act provide the legislative mandate for the Office of the Auditor General. The Mission of the Office, derived from that mandate, is "to add credibility to the Government's financial reporting and to promote improvement in the financial administration of all Government departments and controlled entities for which the Government is accountable to Parliament."

Financial statement audits address the first part of this mission - to add credibility to the Government's financial reporting.  That credibility is provided by my audit reports attached to each set of financial statements tabled in the House of Assembly.

The remainder of the Office's mandate - promoting improvements in financial administration - is addressed mainly by management control systems audits, the results of which I report periodically under section 13 of the Audit Act. However, financial statement audits can also generate recommendations to improve financial reporting and control.

Reporting Process

The Audit Act allows the Auditor General considerable discretion to decide the form and content of reports to the House of Assembly. My practice is to report matters that I believe are significant and constitute an actual or potential for loss of public funds, lack of financial control, impairment of accountability, or non-compliance with legislative requirements. It is also my practice not to report errors or deficiencies that in my opinion have been or are being satisfactorily rectified except if they have resulted in a significant loss of public assets or if they are long-standing and I believe that reporting them will be instructional to other Government organizations.