Controller and Auditor-General of New Zealand


The Controller and Auditor-General is an Officer of the New Zealand Parliament responsible for auditing public bodies. John Ryan began his seven-year term as Controller and Auditor-General on 2 July 2018. The Deputy Controller and Auditor-General is Greg Schollum. Their mandate and responsibilities are set out in the Public Audit Act 2001. They are appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of Representatives.

Role and functions

Public entities are accountable to Parliament and the public for their use of public resources and powers conferred by Parliament. The Auditor-General provides independent assurance that public entities are operating, and accounting for their performance, in keeping with Parliament's intentions. The Auditor-General is independent of executive government and Parliament in discharging the functions of the statutory office, but is answerable to Parliament for stewardship of the public resources entrusted to her.
Under the Public Audit Act 2001, the Auditor-General is the auditor of all public entities, including:
The Auditor-General employs the public sector organisation Audit New Zealand and contracts with private sector accounting firms to carry out these annual audits.
As well as annual audits, the Auditor-General carries out performance audits and inquiries. Other work of the Auditor-General includes:
The Auditor-General employs staff in two business units – the Office of the Auditor-General and Audit New Zealand – and contracts with private sector accounting firms. The two business units share a Corporate Services Team.

Office of the Auditor-General

The Office of the Auditor-General carries out strategic audit planning, sets policy and standards, appoints auditors and oversees their performance, carries out performance audits, provides reporting and advice to Parliament, and carries out inquiries and other special studies.

Audit New Zealand

Audit New Zealand carries out annual audits allocated by the Auditor-General. It also provides other assurance services to public entities, within the Auditor-General’s mandate and in keeping with the Auditor-General’s Auditing Standard on the independence of auditors.
Audit New Zealand's auditors examine the financial statements of public entities and handle special governance, risk, and contract and project management assignments. Audit New Zealand has specialist Tax Audit and Information Systems Assurance Audit teams.

International liaison and involvement

The Auditor-General is currently the Secretary General of the . PASAI is the official association of Supreme Audit Institutions in the Pacific. PASAI is one of the regional working groups belonging to the .
The Auditor-General is a member of INTOSAI, and also contributes to the international auditing community by accepting requests to host delegations from overseas audit offices and other government bodies.

Auditors-General of New Zealand

The first Auditor-General took office in 1846, and before that audit functions were carried out in the Colonial Secretary’s Office. From 1 January 1842 until the appointment of Dr Knight in 1846, accounts were certified by a board consisting of three Commissioners of Audit. The 20th Auditor-General John Ryan took office on 2 July 2018.