Auditor General for Scotland

Auditor General for Scotland
Flag of Scotland
Incumbent
Stephen Boyle
since July 2020; 4 years ago (2020-07)
Member ofAudit Scotland
Reports toScottish Parliament
NominatorScottish Parliament
AppointerMonarch of the United Kingdom
Term length8 years
Constituting instrumentScotland Act 1998
Inaugural holderRobert Black
FormationFebruary 2000; 24 years ago (2000-02)
Websiteaudit.scot/about-us/auditor-general

The auditor general for Scotland (AGS) is the public official in charge of the Audit Scotland, the body responsible for auditing most of Scotland's public bodies, except local authorities. The auditor general oversees the scrutiny of how public money is spent by the directorates of the Scottish Government, government agencies, NHS Scotland, further education colleges and most Non Departmental Public Bodies. The current auditor general is Stephen Boyle.

History and responsibilities

The auditor general is a statutory appointment made by the Crown, on the recommendation of the Scottish Parliament.

The post was created under section 69 of the Scotland Act 1998.[1] The main functions of the AGS are set out under section 70 of the Scotland Act and further provided for under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 legislated for mergers of some emergency service bodies, and also for the auditor general to become responsible for auditing the Scottish Police Authority, and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.[2]

List of auditors general

See also

References

  1. ^ "Topics: Public Sector: Finance: Scottish Public Finance Manual: Auditor General for Scotland". Scottish Government. May 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  2. ^ "About us: Auditor General". Audit Scotland. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Auditor General Robert Black announces his retirement". BBC News. 6 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Appointment of first female auditor general to be approved". STV News. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2015.