Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1921
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1921 c. 52 |
| Year | 1921 |
Exchequer and Audit Departments Act, 1921
(11 & 12 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 52.
An Act to amend the Exchequer and Audit Departments Acts, 1866 and 1889.
[19th August 1921]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Examination of appropriation accounts.
(1) Every appropriation account shall be examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General on behalf of the House of Commons, and in the examination of such accounts the Comptroller and Auditor General shall satisfy himself that the money expended has been applied to the purpose or purposes for which the grants made by Parliament were intended to provide and that the expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it.
(2) The Comptroller and Auditor General, after satisfying himself that the vouchers have been examined and certified as correct by the accounting department, may, in his discretion and having regard to the character of the departmental examination, in any particular case admit the sums so certified without further evidence of payment in support of the charges to which they relate:
Provided that, if the Treasury desire the vouchers or any of them to be examined in greater detail, the Comptroller and Auditor General shall take action accordingly.
(3) If at any time the Comptroller and Auditor General is required by the Treasury to ascertain whether any expenditure included in any appropriation account is supported by the authority of the Treasury, he shall examine that expenditure with that object, and shall report to the Treasury any expenditure which appears upon the examination to have been incurred without such authority, and any such unauthorised expenditure shall, unless sanctioned by the Treasury, be regarded as not being properly chargeable to a Parliamentary grant, and shall be so reported to the House of Commons.
(4) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall report to the House of Commons any important change in the extent or character of any examination made by him.
2 Examination of accounts of receipts of revenue.
(1) The accounts of the receipt of revenue by the Departments of Customs and Excise, Inland Revenue, and Post Office, and the accounts of every receiver of money which is by law payable into the Exchequer, shall be examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General on behalf of the House of Commons in order to ascertain that adequate regulations and procedure have been framed to secure an effective check on the assessment, collection, and proper allocation of revenue, and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall satisfy himself that any such regulations and procedure are being duly carried out.
(2) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall make such examination as he thinks fit with respect to the correctness of the sums brought to account in respect of such revenue as aforesaid, and shall, together with his report on the appropriation accounts of the departments concerned, present to the House of Commons a report on the results of any such examination.
3 Examination of other cash accounts.
(1) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine, if so required by the Treasury and in accordance with any regulations made by the Treasury in that behalf, the accounts of all principal accountants and any other accounts, whether relating directly to the receipt or expenditure of public funds or not, which the Treasury may, by minute to be laid before Parliament, direct.
(2) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine any such accounts so required to be examined by him as aforesaid with as little delay as possible, and when the examination of each account has been completed shall sign a certificate to the account recording the result of his examination, and a copy of the account so certified shall be sent to the accountant.
(3) If in the course of any such examination any question arises between the Comptroller and Auditor General and the accountant, it shall be referred to the Treasury, whose decision thereon shall be final.
(4) A list of all accounts so certified shall be submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General to the Treasury not later than the first week in February and the first week in August in every year.
4 Examination of stock and store accounts.
(1) Stock or store accounts shall be kept in all cases where, in the opinion of the Treasury, the receipt, expenditure, sale transfer or delivery of any securities, stamps, provisions, or stores the property of His Majesty in any Government department is of sufficient amount or character to require the keeping of such accounts, and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall, on behalf of the House of Commons, examine any such accounts so required to be kept in order to ascertain that adequate regulations have been made for control and stocktaking, and that the regulations are duly enforced and that any requirements of the Treasury have been complied with.
(2) The Comptroller and Auditor General shall report to the House of Commons the result of any such examination.
5 Preparation and examination of trading, & c. accounts.
(1) There shall be prepared in each financial year, in such form and by such Government departments as the Treasury may from time to time direct or approve, statements of account showing the income and expenditure of any shipbuilding, manufacturing, trading, or commercial services conducted by the department, together with such balance sheets and statements of profit and loss and particulars of costs as the Treasury may require.
(2) All such accounts shall be transmitted to the Comptroller and Auditor General and presented to Parliament on or before the dates specified in that behalf in the First Schedule to this Act.
(3) All such accounts as aforesaid shall be examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General on behalf of the House of Commons and in his examination he shall have regard to any programme of works,...
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