Nova Scotia. Auditor General

Other forms of name: Nova Scotia. Provincial Auditor

The Audit Act of 1909 created the office of Provincial Auditor as an independent watchdog responsible for auditing the public accounts. In 1926 the Provincial Auditor was discontinued, and the task thereafter performed by a chartered accountant appointed annually by government. By 1942 the office of Provincial Auditor had been re-established as part of the Department of the Provincial Treasurer. In 1950 the Provincial Auditor was given the powers of a public inquiry commissioner. In 1958 the Provincial Auditor was again made independent and renamed Auditor General. In 1973 an Auditor General Act separate from the Provincial Finance Act was passed. Since 1988 the Auditor General and Deputy Auditor General have been required to be professional auditors. The Auditor General is responsible for scrutinizing the government's financial and program management and accounting practices and the expenditure of public money within or outside government. Since 1998 the Auditor General has been required to report annually to the House of Assembly on the financial statements included in the tabled Public Accounts respecting the fiscal year ended. In 2005 the appointment of the Auditor General was made subject to approval by the House of Assembly and the tenure of office limited to a ten-year nonrenewable term.

Notes: Authority record based on Statutes of Nova Scotia: 1909 c. 3, 1926 c. 1, 1942 c. 3, 1950 c. 48, 1958 c. 57, 1970-71 c. 56, 1973 c. 2, 1988 c. 40, 1998 c. 5, 2005 c. 13.