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1. This Act may be cited as the Financial Administration and Audit Act.
2. (1) For the Purposes of this Act, the expression-
"accounting officer" means any person designated as such by the Financial Secretary pursuant to section 9 and charged with the duty of accounting for expenditure of public moneys;
"appropriation Minister" means in relation to a statutory body the Minister exercising authority under the Act establishing that statutory body;
"Appropriation Act" means any Act appropriating revenue in relation to a financial year for such services as are specified in such Act;
"collector of revenue" means an officer designated as such by the Financial Secretary pursuant to section 9 and charged with the duty of collecting and accounting for revenue;
"functions" includes powers and duties;
"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Finance;
"officer" means any person employed in the service of the crown;
"perform" in relation to functions includes exercise;
"public moneys" includes-
(a) revenue;
(b) any trust or other moneys held, whether temporarily or otherwise, by an officer in his official capacity either alone or jointly with any other person whether an officer or not;
"revenue" means all levies, taxes, rates, duties, fees, penalties, forfeitures, rents and dues, proceeds of sale and all other receipts of the Crown from whatever sources arising, over which Parliament has the power of appropriation including the proceeds of all loans raised;
"statutory body" means any public authority, board, commission or similar body corporate, established and incorporated by an Act;
"statutory expenditure" means expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund or on the general revenues and assets of Barbados by any of the provisions of the Constitution or by the provisions of any other enactment for the time being in force in Barbados.
(2) Where any function is by this Act or by any subsidiary legislation made thereunder, required, permitted or otherwise to be performed by the Minister, or the Financial Secretary or the Accountant-General that function may be performed by some person authorized in that behalf by the Minister, or the Financial Secretary or the Accountant General, as the case may be.
(3) References in this Act to a department include references to a Ministry.
26. The Auditor-General shall-
(a) be responsible for the audit and inspection of all public accounts, whether such accounts are of general revenue paid into, and expenditure met from, the Consolidated Fund or of special funds or departmental accounts;
(b) apply to the public accounts such an examination as will enable him to ascertain that in his opinion the accounts are kept on a correct system, that they are punctually and properly posted and that checks against irregularity and fraud are adequate and effective;
(c) satisfy himself that all standing instructions, enactments and other laws of the Island relating to finance and accounts are strictly observed;
(d) examine and certify in accordance with the outcome of his examination the several statements and accounts which are required to be submitted to him under this Act.
27. It shall be the duty of the Auditor-General to examine the calculations and computations of all pensions and gratuities or similar awards before any award is made and to certify that they are arithmetically correct and are in accordance with all statutory provisions relating thereto.
28. (1) The Auditor-General shall report annually, as soon as possible and not later than the last day of December following the close of each financial year, the results of his examination of the accounts and any failure to observe the enactments or other laws of the Island.
(2) Notwithstanding sub-section (1), the Auditor-General may at any time, if it appears to him to be desirable, transmit to the House of Assembly a special report on any matter incidental to his power and duties under this Act.
(3) Every report of the Auditor-General shall be addressed to the Speaker of the House of Assembly who shall lay such report before the House of Assembly as soon as possible after its receipt by him.
(4) A copy of every report of the Auditor-General shall also be transmitted to the Senate for information.
29. (1) For the purpose of the examination of any account the Auditor-General is at all times entitled-
(a) to have access to all books, records, vouchers, documents, returns, cash, stamps, securities, is stores or other property of the Crown in the possession of any officer, and any such officer shall give him every facility for carrying out the examination;
(b) to send for and have the custody of any books, accounts, vouchers or papers under the control of any officer relating to or in any wise concerning the public accounts, and to keep such books, accounts, vouchers, or papers for such time as he may require them;
(c) to call upon any officer for any explanation and information the Auditor-General may require, in order to enable him to discharge his duties;
(d) to require any department concerned to furnish him from time to time or at regular periods with accounts of the transactions of such department up to such date as he may specify;
(e) without payment of any fee, to cause search to be made in, and extracts to be taken from, any book, document or record in any public office;
(f) to summon and examine upon oath, declaration or affirmation (which oath, declaration or affirmation the Auditor-General is hereby empowered to administer all persons whom he thinks fit to examine respecting the receipt or expenditure of money or the receipt or issue of any stores affected by this Act and respecting all other matters and things whatever necessary for the due performance of his functions; and any person summoned as aforesaid is upon production of a certificate of the Auditor-General entitled to payment for his attendance in accordance with the provisions of the Witnesses and Interpreters (Payment) Act as if he were a witness attending a legal proceeding in obedience to a summons issued at the instance of the Crown; but the Auditor-General may, if he thinks fit in any case, disallow the whole or any part of such payment;
(g) to require every person employed in his office who has to examine the accounts of a department to comply with any security requirements applicable thereto and to take any oath of secrecy required to be taken by persons employed in that department.
(2) Any person summoned under paragraph (f) of sub-section (1) who without reasonable excuse fails to obey such summons shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine of fifty dollars, or, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a period of one month.
30. The Auditor-General may authorize any officer of his department to perform on his behalf any of his functions under this Act or any other Act other than the administering of oaths and the certifying of and reporting on accounts for the House of Assembly.
31. If at any time it appears to the Auditor-General that-
(a) any irregularities have occurred in the collection, custody or expenditure of public moneys, or in the accounting for the same; or
(b) any irregularities have occurred in the receipt, custody, issue, sale, transfer or delivery of any stamps, securities, stores, or other property of the Crown, or in the accounting for the same; or
(c) any loss of or damage to property of the Crown has not been duly reported to the Financial Secretary,
he shall immediately bring the matter to the notice of the accounting officer and, if the case is serious, report the circumstances to the Financial Secretary.
32. (1) If the House of Assembly by resolution so directs, the accounts of any statutory body shall notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other Act, be audited by the Auditor-General.
(2) In the exercise of his duties in relation to statutory bodies and their employees, the Auditor-General has the like powers as are vested in him for the purpose of examining accounts under section 29 and sub-section (2) of section 29 shall have effect accordingly.
(3) The Auditor-General shall report on his examination and audit of the accounts referred to in sub-section (1) and shall transmit such report to the appropriate Minister for presentation to the House of Assembly; but-
(a) the appropriate Minister, before so doing, shall obtain the observations of the statutory body concerned on any matter to which attention has been called by the Auditor-General in his report and such observations shall be presented to the House of Assembly with the report; and
(b) if the appropriate Minister fails within a reasonable time to present the report to the House of Assembly, the Auditor-General shall transmit such report to the Speaker to be presented by him to the House of Assembly.
(4) In the performance of his functions under his functions under tills section the Auditor-General may, with the concurrence of the appropriate Minister, authorize any person publicly carrying on the profession of accountant to inspect, examine or audit the books and accounts of any statutory body which the Auditor-General may be required to examine and audit under this section and such persons shall report thereon to the Auditor-General in such manner as the Auditor-General may direct
33. The Auditor-General shall, if so required by the Minister, examine the accounts of any person or organisations who has received moneys by way of grant or loan out of funds voted by Parliament or in respect of whom financial aid from the Crown is sought and report the results of his examination to the Minister.
34. The accounts of the department of the Auditor-General shall be audited and reported on by the Minister, and provisions of sections 28 and 29 shall apply to the Minister in relation to the exercise of those functions in the same manner as they apply to the audit and reports made by the Auditor-General.
