The Auditor-General is empowered under the law to audit the accounts of the Government. He may also audit the accounts of other public authorities and bodies administering public funds if such audit is provided for by specific law governing these authorities and bodies. Where the law is silent, he may audit the accounts of the public authority or body if the public authority or body requests for the audit and the Minister consents to it, or if the Minister directs AGO to carry out the audit in the public interest.

Under the law, AGO is the permanent auditor of MAS. For the other statutory boards, AGO audits them on a rotational basis. Those not audited by AGO are audited by commercial auditors appointed by their respective Ministers in consultation with the Auditor-General.

AGO considers factors such as materiality of public funds managed by the statutory boards and the number of years the statutory boards have not been audited by AGO.

AGO aims to audit the larger statutory boards at least once every five years.

The law requires the Minister to consult the Auditor-General when he appoints an auditor for a statutory board. The Auditor-General will not object to the Minister's choice of auditor if certain qualifying criteria are met. Commercial auditors auditing statutory boards follow national accounting and auditing standards.

AGO charges a fee for auditing statutory boards because this is provided by law and the fee goes into the Government Consolidated Fund. The fee quantum is approved by the Minister for Finance.

Compliance with legislated financial reporting standards per se does not necessarily result in financial statements that are true and fair. In forming an audit opinion, AGO will also assess the appropriateness of accounting policies adopted by the statutory board and the adequacy of its disclosures so as to determine whether the financial statements do show a true and fair view of its financial position and results.

For example, if a statutory board chooses not to disclose certain transactions (even if allowed under the financial reporting standards) and AGO assesses that these non-disclosures had materially affected the financial statements, AGO will issue a modified or a qualified audit report depending on the severity of the non-disclosure. This is consistent with the requirements of the Singapore Standards on Auditing.

Government-owned companies are governed by the Companies Act and are audited by commercial auditors. AGO may audit a government-owned company if the company requests for it and the Minister for Finance consents to the audit, or if the Minister directs AGO to carry out the audit in the public interest.

Under the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, the Auditor-General has the duty to inform the President of any proposed transaction by the Government which, to his knowledge, is likely to draw on reserves which were not accumulated during its current term of office. In addition, if AGO observes any non-compliance with the laws in relation to protection of reserves in its audit, this will be reported.

For the audit of financial statements, AGO uses the Singapore Standards on Auditing (SSA) issued by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore which are also applicable to commercial auditors.

No. Information asked for by AGO must be produced. The law (Audit Act) empowers the Auditor-General to have unrestricted access to information in order that he can discharge his duty.

Where an auditee has concerns on the release of a particular piece of information, he should provide his reason in writing to AGO. If these reasons are not acceptable to the Auditor-General, and the auditee still would not produce the required information, this may be disclosed in the Auditor-General's report to the President and Parliament. The financial statements of the auditee, if affected, may also be qualified.

No. There is no duplication of work as the roles of AGO vis-a-vis the IAU are different. IAU is a tool of management and its reports generally stop at management and/or an Audit Committee. The AGO, however, provides an external and independent perspective through its audits and reports to the President and the Parliament.

As part of its audit planning, AGO obtains information on management reviews and internal audits carried out or to be carried out by ministries and statutory boards. This helps AGO to avoid any unnecessary repeat of an audit observation. However, AGO may review specific issues which in its view have not been fully addressed in the internal audit.

Non-compliances with procedures are signs of weak internal controls. Reporting of such observations serves to raise awareness of the need for effective internal controls. Small lapses, if regarded as trivial and allowed to perpetuate, would lower the standard of governance in the public sector. They could lead to material errors or be exploited resulting in significant loss of public moneys.

AGO produces the following reports:

1. Report of the Auditor-General submitted annually to the President and presented to Parliament;

2. Audit opinion on the published financial statements of Government and statutory boards; and

3. Management letters for each audit giving details of audit observations such as internal control weaknesses, operational inefficiencies and non-compliances with rules and regulations. These are sent to the auditees and their supervisory bodies.

The Report of the Auditor-General carries observations which, in the opinion of the Auditor-General, should be made known to the President, Parliament and the public in the interest of accountability or which serve as useful learning points to the public sector. Such observations include control weaknesses, poor management of public funds and resources as well as operational inefficiencies.

The Report is submitted to the President in early July each year.

All public feedback will be evaluated and taken into account in our audit planning where appropriate. AGO welcomes feedback on non-compliances with financial and procurement rules as well as misuse of public funds such as wastage and extravagance. All feedback provided is kept confidential.

AGO is not the authority for investigating fraud or corruption. Such cases should be reported to the Police and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) respectively.